1988 - Spinoff - NASA

Spinoff

Spinoff 

For sale by the 

Superintendent of Documents, 

U.S. Government Printing Office 

Washington, D.C. 20402 

National Aeronautics and 

Space Administration 

Office of Commercial Programs 

Technology Utilization Division 

by James J. Haggerty 

August 1988

i Foreword 

7 he year 1988, the 30th anniversary of We have a renewed mandate from the 

the National Aeronautics and Space President, whose National Space Policy, is- 

! Administration, marks the start of a sued in 1988, reaflirmed the basic goal of 

new era of space development and explora- United States leadership in space. What 

tion. In the flight hiatus since the Challenger NASA and the Nation need now is a new 

accident, the Nation has undeniably lost national commitment of will and resources to 

ground in global space competition. How- attain that goal. That commitment must be 

ever, we have never lost sight of the goal of based on the realization that our economic 

space leadership, nor have we lost the ca- growth and prosperity, our industrial innova- 

pability to attain that goal. tion and productivity, our national security, 

NASA's employees and contractors retain and our prestige and national pride are all 

the imagination that opens up new horizons, closely linked to our future in space. 

the management expertise to organize and Given the full support of the American 

I 

I guide challenging programs, and the tech- people and resources we need to complete 

nical skills to translate vision into reality. the task, I am confident that the U.S. can 

Thirty years of working to advance technol- and will lead spacefaring nations into a new 

ogy have given us a great bank of know-how era of progress and prosperity in the 2 1st 

to draw upon. NASA also has the tools, fachties 

and human assets required to seek 

and demonstrate excellence in space. 

We have established a broad and progressive 

space program that will expand space 

infrastructure and thus enable pursuit of a 

wider range of opportunities. Our program 

century. 

also will improve our space transportation James C. Fletcher 

system, bring about far-reaching advance- Administrator 

ments in space science, pursue the many 

practical benefits space offers, and build a 

technological foundation for the new NASA 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration 

i 

goal of extending the human presence beyond 

Earth orbit.

Introduction 

+ 

U.S . competitiveness is a subject The Congress has charged NASA with the 

that is getting a great deal task of stimulating the widest possible use of 

of attention from our na- this valuable resource in the national interest. 

tional leadership. America's ability to com- NASA seeks to meet that responsibility 

pete effectively in the international market- through its Technology Utilization Program, 

place is central to our current and future whose aim is to broaden and accelerate the 

national economy. The key to competitive- technology transfer process and to gain 

ness is technology, which-by one dehi- thereby a substantial dividend on the nation-is 

"that body of knowledge and a- tional investment in aerospace research in the 

pability required to bring a product to the form of new products, new businesses and 

marketplace. " 

new jobs. The prom is designed to serve 

The U.S. long dominated world technol- as a channel linking NASA technology 

ogy but in recent years we have been strongly with those who might be able to apply it 

challenged by foreign nations, who have in- productively. 

vested in years of intense research and devel- This publication is intended to heighten 

opment to upgrade their own technological awareness among potential users of the 

capabilities. Our response, if we are to main- technology available for transfer and the 

tain competitiveness, must be to continue economic and social benefit that might be 

development and application of advanced realized by secondary applications. 

technology to create superior products and Spinoff 1988 is organized in three sections: 

services for the world market. 

Section 1 outlines NASA's mainline effort, 

NASA research programs, therefore, are the major programs that generate new techdoubly 

important. 

nology and therefore replenish and expand 

First, they represent a leading source of the bank of knowledge available for transfer. 

new technology, because aerospace programs Section 2, the main feature of this volare, 

by their challenging nature, extraordi- ume, contains a representative sampling of 

narily demanding of technological input and spinoff products that resulted from secondary 

the innovations they generate are exception- application of technology originally develally 

diverse. Because it is readily transferable, oped to meet mainline goals. 

the technology being developed today pro- Section 3 describes the various mechavides 

a wellspring of know-how for new nisms NASA employs to stimulate technolapplications 

tomorrow. 

ogy transfer and lists, in an appendix, contact 

Secondly, NASA programs of the past sources for further information about the 

three decades have created a vast storehouse 

of already-developed technology that is available 

now for use by industry in aeating 

new products and processes. It is a natural 

resource that can be put to work to enhance 

national productivity and competitiveness. 

Its importance is underlined by the fact that 

Technology Utilization Program. 

more than 30,000 secondary applications /,am= T. Rose 

of this technology-spinoffs-have emerged 

to the benefit of the nation's lifestyle and Assistant Administrator for Cmmrcial Programs 

economy. 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Introduction 

Aerospace Aims 

Space Operations: The Next Decade 8 

Flight Plan for Tomorrow 20 

Exploring the Cosmos 30 

Commercial Use of Space 42 

Technology Twice Used 

Prologue 

spin off^ in: 

Health and Medicine 

Consumer/Home/Recreation 

Energy 

Environment 

Public Safety 

Transportation 

Manufacturing Technology 

Technology Utilization 

Recycling Technology

Aerospace Aims 

An illustrated summary of NASA's major 

aeronautical and space programs, their 

goals and directions, their contributions 

to American scientific and technological 

growth, and their potential for practical 

benefits in new products and processes

Space Operations: The Next Decade 

NASA's "new beginning" 

agenda features 

development of the Space 

Station Freedom in 

international partnership 

and steps toward expanding 

human presence beyond 

Earth orbital space 

8 Space 0pcraton.c The New Decade 

0 

n February 11, 1988, President Reagan 

announced a revised national policy 

to guide U.S. space activities into 

the 2 1st century. Its three major components 

include: 

Establishing a long range goal to expand 

human presence and activity beyond Earth 

orbit; 

Creating opportunities for U.S. commerce 

in space; and 

Continuing the national commitment to a 

permanently manned Space Station. 

As Space Shuttle operations resume and 

NASA commences its fourth decade of space 

research and technology development, these 

aims-along with a vigorous space science 

effort-constitute the framework of NASA's 

space program for the remaining years of the 

20th century. 

The Space Shuttle begins life anew a 

much improved system whose role in space 

operations will undergo a change of emphasis. 

For its first 24 flights, the Shuttle was 

largely a payload delivery system. It will 

continue to deliver free-flying payloads and 

the Spacelab orbiting workshop, but much 

of the commercial workload will be transferred 

to expendable launch vehicles. 

Planned Shuttle operations will take 

greater advantage of the system's versatility 

in such missions as retrieval of orbiting 

spaceaafi for repair, refurbishment and reuse; 

on-orbit servicing of long duration satellites 

and observatories such as the Hubble 

Space Telescope; serving as an orbital platform 

for investigations where human direction 

of the research is essential or benefi&, 

and conducting tests and evaluations of 

Space Station-related technologies. In the 

mid-19901s, it will become a combined delivery 

vehicle and construction base for assembly 

of the U.S./intemational Space Station 

Freedom and the station's link with 

Earth for resupply and aew rotation. 

The Shuttle reenters service a changed 

system. In addition to the redesigned Solid 

Rocket Boosters, Shuttle Orbiters Dkcwety, 

Atlantis, and Columbia have undergone, or 

are undergoing, some 30 modifications-for 

example, changes in the Orbiter's main en- 

gines, attitude control engines, landing gear, 

brakes, ancillary power units and the critical 

thermal protection system, plus the addition 

of a aew escape system. Shuttle flight rate 

will build up gradually, from 7-8 missions in 

1989, to 10 in 1990, to better than one a 

month when the as yet unnamed fourth Or- 

biter joins the fleet in 1992. 

The new directive to plan for human 

space activities beyond Earth orbit will in- 

volve earlier consideration of design factors 

related to use of the Space Station as a stag- 

ing base for exploration of the solar system. 

It does not change the immediate focus of 

the program: to establish a permanently 

manned research complex in low Earth orbit, 

a facility for scientific observation of Earth 

and the cosmos; for development of new 

technologies; and for research in life sciences 

and materials processing under conditions of 

near-zero gravity; and for realization of the 

commercial potential of space. 

A new and important activity beginning 

in Fiscal Year 1989 is Project Pathfinder, es- 

tablished by a Presidential directive that 

accompanied the space policy declaration. 

Amplified in later pages of this chapter, 

Pathfinder is a research and technology 

development effort intended to "provide a 

base for wise decisions on long term goals 

and missions," such as the widely discussed 

lunar outpost and manned expedition to 

Mars. A

The crew of STS-26: mission 

commander Frederick H. (Rick) 

Hauck (right front); pilot Richard 

0. Covey (left front); standing, 

left to right, mission specialists 

David C. Hilrners. Georae D. I (Pinky) Nelson and ~ ohn M. 

(Mike) Lounge. 

Symbol of a new begirlning: The 

Orbiter Discovery being rolled to 

the launch pad for Space Shuttle 

flight STS-26. 

Space Operationc The New Decade 9

Space Suit 

10 Space Operations: The New Decade 

hen the Space Sta- 

tion Freedom be- 

comes operational, 

extravehicular activity (EVA) 

is expected to become almost 

routine and on each EVA as- 

tronauts will work outside 

the station for long periods. 

To provide astronaut protec- 

tion from radiation, 

miaometeoroids and space 

debris yet allow adequate 

mobility and range of mo- 

tion for the wide variety of 

EVA tasks anticipated, 

NASA is developing an ad- 

, vanced space suit intended 

for EVA periods up to eight 

i In January 1988, NASA 

began evaluating two experimental 

prototypes of EVA 

suits being developed by 

Ames Research Center and 

Johnson Space Center, each 

employing a different design 

approach. 

Shown undergoing test in 

a water tank is Ames' X-5, 

I worn by space suit designer 

Herbert C. "Vic" Vykukal 

of the center's Aerospace 

Human Factors Research Di- 

vision. The AX-5 is an "all- 

hard" suit, made of alumi- 

num and stainless steel with 

no "soft" (fabric) parts. 

Miao Craft, Inc. is Ames' 

principal contractor. 

Johnson Space Center 

USC) is taking a design ap- 

proach based on the philoso- 

phy that soft parts enhance 

wearer comfort and should 

be employed to the extent 

possible. Its ZPS Mark 3 

suit has both hard and soft 

elements. 

The "ZPS" stands for 

"zero prebreathing suit. " 

Both suits are designed to 

eliminate the existing re- 

quirement, for Shuttle-based 

EVA, that astronauts 

prebreathe pure oxygen to 

eliminate nitrogen from 

body tissues before begin- 

ning EVA. Both suits, there- 

fore, are designed to operate 

at substantially higher pres- 

sures than the Shuttle suit, 

which necessitates use of 

some hard parts. Both suits 

are intended to provide 

greater mobility than the 

Shuttle suit offers with more 

comfort, despite the design 

constraints imposed by the 

higher pressure. NASA will 

select one suit or the other, 

or possibly a new hybrid de- 

sign that combines features 

of both, as the standard suit 

for Space Station or Space 

Shuttle EVA in the 1990s. A

Orbital Maneuvering Vehicle 

T 

he artist's concept 

shows a Shuttle deployed 

Orbital Maneuvering 

Vehicle (OW) retrieving 

an orbiting payload 

for return to the Shuttle Orbiter. 

The next planned addition 

to the space Transportation 

System, the OMV is 

being developed by TRW 

Inc.; Marshall Space Flight 

Center is project manager. 

The reusable OMV is a 

space tug intended to extend 

the reach of the Shuttle Or- 

biter by moving satellites 

and other objects to and 

from altitudes beyond the 

Orbiter's normal operating 

area of 150-300 miles above 

Earth's surface. It can, for 

example, propel a payload as 

far as 1,200 miles after 

deployment from the 

Orbiter--or it can retrieve a 

payload, deliver it to the Or- 

biter for repair, then return 

it to its operational orbit. 

Remotely-controlled by 

ground-based astronauts em- 

ploying television and other 

sensors to guide its move- 

ments, the OMV can handle 

routine on-orbit servicing, 

maintenance or payload 

changeout, and can be useful 

as a "Shuttle associate" in 

construction of large space 

structures. By use of modifi- 

cation kits, the versatile sys- 

tem can be configured to 

perform a wide variety of 

space tasks. 

No provision has been 

made for basing an O W at 

the initial baseline Space Station, 

but the OMV could 

evolve later into a station adjunct, 

performing such tasks 

as deployment of stationassembled 

satellites or positioning 

Shuttle-delivered 

resupply modules. The system 

is targeted for service in 

1993. r 

Space Operations: The New Decade I I

Space Station 

T 

he Space Station program 

moved ahead in 

the summer of 1988 

as NASA completed negotiations 

with its international 

parmers-Canada, the European 

space Agency (=A) 

and Japan-and cleared the 

way for formal signing of 

agreements in the fall. 

Shown above is the baseline 

Space Station with its 

four solar power modules at 

the ends of a 445-foot-long 

truss. In the center of the 

auss are the pressurized living 

and working areas, a 

U.S.-built habitation module 

12 Space Operatiom The New Decade 

and three laboratory modules 

to be provided by the U.S., 

ESA and Japan. 

Linking the modules are 

pressurized "resource nodes," 

which contain equipment to 

expand the available work- 

ing/living space. With the 

modules and nodes, the 

baseline Space Station will 

have 3 1,000 cubic feet of 

pressurized volume. The sta- 

tion design also includes pro- 

visions for mounting major 

experiments externally on the 

horizontal truss. 

Additional experiments 

will be accommodated by 

unmanned platforms operat- 

ing separately from the 

manned base in polar orbit, 

one to be built by the U.S., 

the other by ESA. The U.S. 

platform is shown at top 

right; an important element 

of NASA's earth observation 

program, it will carry a vari- 

ety of instruments for Earth 

biological, geological and 

oceanographic observations, 

atmosphere monitoring, 

observation of the Sun 

and plasma physics 

measurements. 

Designed to be serviced in 

orbit, it is being developed, 

under Goddard Space Flight 

Center management, by GE

Astro-Space Division with 

assistance h m team member 

TRW Inc. The GE/ 

TRW team is also responsible 

for integration into the 

Space Station of the Fhght 

Telerobotic Servicer, a multiarmed 

robot that will help 

astronauts assemble the 

Space Station (above), later 

help maintain attached pay- 

k- 

%, 5'. , 

i'h 

loah and assist in servicing 

s-. 

Another major component 

of the Space Station is the 

Mobile Servicing System 

(MSS) being developed by 

the Canadian government. 

Shown above, the robotic 

MSS operates h m the horizontal 

truss, positioned by a 

U.S.-provided mobile transporter, 

performing assembly, 

maintenance and servicing 

tasks. In the concept shown, 

the MSS manipulator arm is 

addug an experiment module 

to a auss-attached payload. 

. ' . .,' . . , . . . 

7' . 

. 

. . 

In addition to the GE/ 

TRW contracts described, 

which are part of Work 

Package Three, NASA 

awarded letter contracts in 

December 1987 to three 

other major contractors, each 

of which is supported 

by a number of team 

subcontractors. 

Under Work Package 

One, managed by Marshall 

Space Flight Center, k ing 

Aerospace Company will 

provide the U.S. laboratory 

and habitation modules, lo- 

gistics elements, resource 

node structures, airlock sys- 

tems, the environmental con- 

trol and life support system, 

audio and video systems, 

and associated software. 

Work Package Two, 

managed by Johnson Space 

Center, is being performed 

by a team headed by Mc- 

Domell Douglas Astronau- 

tics Company. It embraces 

the auss structure, the MSS 

transporter, airlocks, outfit- 

ting of the resource nodes, 

hardware and software for 

the data management sys- 

tem, the communications 

and tracking system, the 

guidance, navigation and 

control system, EVA sys- 

tems, the propulsion system, 

the thermal control system 

and amdated software. 

Rocketdyne Division of 

Rockwell International Cor- 

poration is handling Work 

Package Four under the 

management of Lewis 

Research Center. The 

Rocketdyne team will pro- 

vide the complete power sys- 

tem and associated software, 

including power generation, 

storage, management and 

distribution of electric 

power. Rocketdyne will also 

provide the electric power 

system for the U.S. polar 

orbiting platform. 

(Continued) 

Space Operationc Tbt New Decade 13

Space Station (Continued) 

The schedule for develop- 

ment and assembly of the 

Space Station Freedom is de- 

pendent upon funding levels, 

which had not been finally 

determined at publication 

time. A tentative schedule, 

based on the Administra- 

tion's budget plan, calls for 

the first launch of the assem- 

bly series in March 1995, 

when the Space Shuttle will 

deliver to an orbit 250 miles 

high an initial group of 

components for assembly in 

space. 

Over the following three 

years, there will be 19 addi- 

tional flights, 12 of them for 

delivery of manned base seg- 

ments, six for logistics and 

outfitting. The other flight, 

planned for late 1995, will 

deploy the U.S. polar orbit- 

ing platform. 

There will also be two 

flights of the European 

Ariane launch vehide, one in 

1997 to deploy the ESA po- 

lar platform, the other at the 

tail end of the assembly se- 

quence to deploy the ESA 

Man Tended Free Flyer, a 

miaogravity experiment fa- 

cility that will operate in an 

orbit compatible with that 

of Freedom. 

With delivery of the U.S. 

laboratory module on the 

fourth flight in late 1995, 

Freedom will have a capabil- 


ity for man-tended opera- 

tions. Permanent occupancy 

will begin with the 1 lth 

flight late in 1996. 

The manned base of the 

Space Station Freedom in- 

dudes the four pressurized 

modules, three of them lab- 

oratories. The U.S. labora- 

tory module is a cylinder 45 

feet long and 14 feet in di- 

ameter. It will be pressur- 

ized-as will the other hu- 

man habitable modules-to 

Earth sea level equivalent 

pressure. 

At top is a Boeing Hunts- 

ville concept of the U.S. lab 

module. The astronaut in 

left photo is working in a 

commercial processing area 

that can be dosed off to pro-

tea proprietary worlc. ihe 

astronauts in the center are 

using a general work station, 

and at far right an astronaut 

is entering the module from 

a tunnel that connects with 

another module and with 

the visiting Shuttle Orbiter. 

ESA's Columbus labora- 

tory is of similar size, with 

an airlock for temporary ex- 

posure of experiments to the 

vacuum of space or for trans- 

fer of equipment to support 

external activities. 

Japan's JEM (Japanese 

Experiment Module) in- 

cludes a short pressurized 

segment to which a dome- 

shaped experiment logistics 

module can be attached, plus 

an "outdoors" exposed ex- 

periment facility for experi- 

ments where unpressurized 

conditions are preferred or 

essential. 

The U.S.-built habitation 

module, designed for a max- 

imum of eight astronauts, 

has everything needed for 

long duration occupancy, in- 

cluding facilities for eating, 

sleeping, relaxation, medical 

procedures and work activi- 

ties. At lefi is a Johnson 

Space Center USC) full scale 

modcup used for habitability 

studies. Above is a contractor 

concept of the module in 

which one astronaut (center 

photo), held in place by re- 

straining straps, sits at a 

work station while another 

prepares a meal in the mod- 

ule's galley (far left). 

Intended to operate for 

several decades, the Space 

Station can be expanded in 

both size and capability as 

NASA's oved space pro- 

gram evolves. Among major 

enhancements envisioned are 

a servicing bay for mainte- 

nance and repair of un- 

manned satellites; another 

free-flying platform like the 

polar orbiters, this one op- 

erating in the same orbit as 

the Space Station; a solar dy- 

namic power system to aug- 

ment the electricity gener- 

ated by the solar power 

modules; and additional 

truss booms to provide ex- 

tensive accommodation for 

attached payloads. A 

Space Operatiow The New Decade 15

Project Pathfinder 

I 

he Presidential space 

policy announced in 

February 1988 di- 

rected that NASA pursue a 

long range goal "to establish 

human presence and activity 

beyond Earth orbit." The di- 

rective recognized, however, 

that an immediate decision 

on speufic goal, or set of 

goals, would be premature; 

intelligent goal selection 

among the alternatives being 

considered demands a 

broader science and technol- 

ogy base. 

16 Space Operatiom The New Decade 

Therefore, to lay a foun- 

dation for deciding advanced 

goals, the President's direc- 

tive created Project Path- 

finder, a major new program 

for research and development 

of "precursor" technologies 

that will enable a wide range 

of manned and unmanned 

missions beyond Earth orbit. 

Pathfinder will comple- 

ment and build upon the 

ongoing Civil Space Technol- 

ogy Initiative (CSTI). Where 

CSTI aims to develop tech- 

nologies related to space op- 

erations in low Earth orbit, 

Pathfinder will concentrate 

on emerging, innovative 

technologies that would 

make possible such lunar/in- 

terplanetary missions and ad- 

vanced robotic exploration of 

the solar system, a human- 

smffed outpost on the Moon, 

or a manned expedition to 

Mars. 

Project Pathfinder is orga- 

nized around four major 

thrusts: Exploration, Transfer 

Vehicles, Humans in Space, 

and Operations. Each thrust 

focuses on a set of key tech- 

nology elements to support 

critical mission capabilities. 

Examples of the Explora- 

tion thrust include develop- 

ment of the technologies 

needed for automated or as-

tronaut-driven roving vehi- 

cles that could operate on 

Mars or Earth's Moon; 

readily assembled surface 

power systems to support 

manned exploration of Mars 

or the Moon (left); and 

technologies for acquiring, 

analyzing and preserving sur- 

face and subsurface samples 

from the moon. 

The Transfer Vehicle 

thrust will provide the tech- 

nologies for transportation to 

and from the Moon, Mars 

and the other planets, and 

for transfer between different 

Earth orbits, for example, 

movement of people or cargo 

between low Earth orbit and 

geosynchronous orbit. 

Among examples of pro- 

gram elements are investiga- 

tion of both chemical and 

electrical propulsion systems 

and the technique of 

"aerobraking," in which the 

atmospheres of Earth or 

other solar system bodies are 

employed to decelerate a 

spacecraft in order to a& 

the requisite velocity for or- 

biting the body. Above is 

an artist's concept of an elec- 

trically-propelled cargo vehi- 

cle for use in supporting a 

manned Mars mission or 

robotic exploration of the 

outer planets. 

(Continued) 

Space Operationc The New Decade 17

Project Pathfinder (continued) r - w m 

Project Pathfinder's 

Humans in Space thrust has 

three major elements. One is 

directed toward providing a 

technology base that will al- 

low humans to operate for 

lengthy periods outside the 

protection of their pressur- 

ized habitats. It focuses on 


two areas of technology: 

EVA suits (see page 10 ) and 

portable life support concepts 

and components. 

Another part of the 

Humans in Space effort in- 

volves development of tech- 

nologies to help accommo- 

date human physiological 

requirements and adaptive 

changes during long term 

confinement, exposure to un- 

natural gravitational condi- 

tions, and unaccustomed risk 

and stress. A third aspect of 

the program deals with tech- 

nologies for dosed-loop life 

support systems, intended to 

reduce the mass of consum- 

ables required and thus 

lower the cost of resupply for 

extended duration human 

space activities. 

The fourth Pathfinder 

thrust--Operations- 

embraces several program el- 

ements: among them auton- 

omous rende&ous and dock- 

ing for non-piloted space 

systems; technologies for a 

pilot plant capable of pro- 

cessing resources on the 

Moon or Mars, for example, 

exaacting oxygen for life 

support &om locally available 

materials, cryogenic fluid de- 

pot technologies to enable 

development of efficient sys- 

tems for servicing many 

types of space vehicles in 

rniaogravity; space nudear 

power for selected Earth or- 

biting spaced, a lunar 

outpost, or a piloted mission 

to Mars; and technologies for 

robotic assembly and con- 

struction of large structures 

in space (top). 

The technologies to be 

developed under Project 

Pathfinder are intended to 

support a wide variety of po- 

tential new NASA missions. 

Some possible applications, 

each of which would use a 

number of the technologies 

desaibed, are illustrated: at 

left, an advanced Earth-or- 

biting space station; above, a 

nudear powered lunar out- 

post with resource processing 

capability; and at right, be- 

ing readied for launch from 

an Earth-orbiting space sta- 

tion, a planetary exploration 

vehicle that would employ 

virtually all of the Pathfinder 

technologies. A

Space Operations: The New Decade 19

Flight Plan for Tomorrow 

Progress on the National 

Aero-Space Plane highlights 

selected examples of NASA 

aeronautical research, which 

is providing new technology 

for coming generations of 

better performing, more 

efficient aircraft. 

20 Flight Plan fw T o m m 

- he National Aero-Space Plane (NASP) 

program is a joint NASA/Department 

of Defense (DoD) effort to develop 

and demonstrate the technologies for a revolutionary 

class of "transatmospheric" vehicles 

that would be capable of airplane-like horizontal 

takeoff and landing, flight within the 

atmosphere at 4,000-8,000 miles per hour, 

or direct ascent to orbit. 

Among a variety of applications envisioned 

for such craft are rapid response 

Earth-to-orbit transports or rescue vehicles, 

long range air defense interceptors and 

hypersonic passenger transports. 

Other benefits expected from the program 

are giant step technological advances in aerodynamics, 

propulsion, materials and structures, 

technologies that will help the United 

States maintain preeminence in aeronautics 

in the face of intense and growing competition 

from abroad. 

In addition, successful demonstration of a 

horizontal takeoff, single stage to orbit vehicle 

would lead to significant reductions in 

the cost of delivering payloads to orbit, one 

of the major inhibitors to progress in space 

development. Free of the requirement for an 

elaborate vertical launch complex, a future 

aerospace plane could boost payloads into 

space at a fraction of today's costs. 

The NASP program began in 1984 as a 

Phase 1 design study effort with broad industry 

participation. The concept defined 

included a conventional takeoff vehicle, 

powered by an airbreathing (rather than 

rocket) propulsion system, capable of sustained 

hypersonic flight and acceleration to 

Mach 25, the speed necessary to attain orbit. 

Currently under way, Phase I1 of the program 

is the technology development phase, 

which involves bringing to maturity certain 

key technologies, developing a proof-of-con- 

cept propulsion module and building the 

components necessary for an experimental 

flight research vehicle. The U.S. Air Force is 

managing Phase 11; NASA, Air Force and 

Navy laboratories are supporting the pro- 

gram with key technical personnel and 

facilities. 

The major portion of the workload falls to 

five contractors. In August 1987, contracts 

for the propulsion module technology devel- 

opment portion of the program were 

awarded to Rocketdyne Division of Rockwell 

International Corporation and Pratt & Whit- 

ney division of United Technologies Cor- 

poration. They will fabricate engine models 

and test them at speeds up to Mach 8, the 

practical limit of wind tunnel testing for 

propulsion systems. 

In October 1987, contracts for continuing 

airframe technology development were 

awarded to the Fort Worth (Texas) Division 

of General Dynamics Corporation; McDon- 

neu Douglas Corporation's McDomell Air- 

craft Company; and Rodcwell International's 

North American Aircraft Operations. These 

contracts call for fabrication and test of se- 

lected airframe components, plus preliminary 

design of a NASP experimental vehicle. 

The next major milestone comes in the 

latter part of 1990, when NASA and DoD 

will assess the results of Phase I1 and decide 

whether to proceed with Phase 111--design, 

construction and test of an X-30 experimen- 

tal vehicle to demonstrate the technologies 

throughout the hypersonic cruise/acceleration 

to orbit flight envelope. Flight tests would 

begin in the mid-1990s. 

NASA's NASP-related work exemplifies 

the main thrust of the agency's broad aero- 

nautical research program: anticipating the 

longer range needs of future flight and devel- 

oping applicable technology. Part of this ef- 

fort involves research of a general nature 

aimed at advancing aerodynamics, propul- 

sion, materials and structures, aviation elec-

tronics and knowledge of the human factors jetliners and high performance military An artist's conception of a 21 st 

in flight operations. The other part embraces air&. century aerospace plane preparing 

technology development for improving the Additionally, the aeronautical research to dock at a space station. 

performance, efficiency and environmental program includes development of technology 

acceptability of specific types of flight vehi- for solution of current and predictable avia- 

cles, such as tomorrow's general aviation tion problems. Examples indude curbing air- 

planes, rotary wing aircraft, advanced craft fuel consumption, curbing airplane and 

helicopter noise, finding ways to alleviate 

congestion and a variety of safety-related in- 

vestigations, such as anti-icing research, re- 

search on fire resistant materials and im- 

proved aircraft structures for better passenger 

protection. A 

Plight Plan for T m m 21

Transportation Research 

A 

t right is an experimental 

concept installed 

in the cockpit 

of NASA's Transport Systems 

Research Vehide 

(TSRV). In this new all-elec 

tronic flight deck concept, 

virtually all of the traditional 

display indicators have been 

replaced by advanced indicators 

such as those shown at 

far right; the upper display 

shows flight information, the 

lower navigation information. 

Electronically generated 

displays promise to reduce 

clutter, complexity and aew 

workload while maintaining 

reliability in the transport 

cockpit of the funue. 

The TSRV is a modified 

Boeing 737 jetliner operated 

by Langley Research Center 

in a cooperative programwith 

the Federal Aviation 

Administration-that is exploring 

technology for enhanced 

air safety and reduction 

of flight delays. Called 

ATOPS-for Advanced 

Transport Operating Systems-the 

program aims to 

provide a technology base for 

development of airborne 

automation aids that complement 

advancing groundbased 

air traffic control concepts 

for improved safety, 

communications and trafKc 

flow. 

?? Flight Plan fw TMMWU~ 

The ?SRV is a flying lab- 

oratory, extensively equipped 

with advanced experimental 

avionics. It has two flight 

decks: a conventional for- 

ward deck and a fully opera- 

tional research flight deck, 

located in the main cabin aft 

of the standird pilots' com- 

parunent. From the win- 

dowless aft cockpit, research 

aews fly the airplane by 

means of computer-driven 

systems and informational 

displays, while pilots on the 

standard flight deck monitor 

the flight. The aft flight 

deck provides the capability 

to explore innovations in dis- 

play format and content, and 

to evaluate pioneering con- 

cepts for improved aircraft 

operations. 

On the research flight 

deck, information is pre- 

sented to the crew by eight 

electronic displays represen- 

tative of the technology that 

will be available for new 

commercial transports of the 

1990s. Color displays, onboard 

computers and sped 

y developed software 

make it possible to provide 

more dearly information 

thar, in today's aircraft, is 

presented only parually or 

in scattered locations. 

In addition to the video 

flight and navigation displays, 

center panel displays 

provide capabilities for monitoring 

engine and system 

status and managing aircraft 

systems operation. The center 

panel displays permit research 

on how additional information 

can be displayed 

to improve air ttaffic control 

communications, flight management 

options and d c 

awareness. A

Propfan Progress 

A 

t top right is the 

Model 578-DX, a 

10,000 horsepower 

propfan system being jointly 

developed by a team headed 

by General Motors' Allison 

Gas Twbine Division and 

Pratt & Whimey division of 

United Technologies. It will 

be evaluated in tests aboard 

a McDonnell Douglas 

MD8O twinjet. McDonnell 

Douglas, which plans to introduce 

propfan-powered airliners 

in the early 1990s, has 

similarly tested another 

propfan, General Electric 

Company's GE36 Unducted 

Fan, which was also flown in 

a Boeing 727 test bed. 

The 578-DX is an offshoot 

of an experimental 

propfan system developed 

for NASA's Propfan Test 

Assessment program, which 

involves ground and flight 

tests intended to demonstrate 

that new technology 

"sweptback" propeller 

blades, driven by an advanced 

engine, can provide 

transport propulsion at 

jetliner speeds with fuel savings 

up to 30 percent. 

Tested as the port engine 

of a modified Gulfstream I1 

business jet (above), the 

PTA engine is somewhat 

different from the cornrner- 

cidy developed engines; it is 

a tractor-type system rather 

than a "pusher," and it has 

a single propeller as opposed 

to the counter-rotating pro- 

pellers of the 578-DX and 

GE36. It is a 6,000 horse- 

power unit developed by a 

NASA/industry team man- 

aged by Lewis Research Cen- 

ter. The prime contractor 

was Lockheed Aeronautical 

Systems Company-Georgia. 

Subcontractors included Alli- 

son, which provided the tur- 

bine engine; Hamilton Stan- 

dard division of United 

Technologies, which de- 

signed and built the 

propfan;/Rohr Industries, 

engine nacelle. Gulfstream 

Aerospace modified the test 

airplane and Lockheed Aero- 

nautical Systems Company- 

California was responsible for 

noise and vibration research. 

PTA flight tests began in 

March 1987. In addition to 

testing the propulsion sys- 

tem, researchers investigated 

in flight a new noise control 

concept developed by Lock- 

heed-California. Noise from 

large, uncovered propellers is 

not muffled by a cowling, as 

in a conventional jet engine. 

The challenge is to develop a 

sound insulating cabin wall, 

without paying a significant 

weight penalty, so that noise 

is no greater than in a 

jetliner cabin. In the PTA 

airplane, a 10-foot acoustic 

treatment test section re- 

placed the cabin's regular 

interior wall. Between the 

outside suucture and interior 

trim, the test section has 

new acoustic mders and 

low-frequency sound absorb- 

ing materials that provide 

more isolation per pound 

than current sound- 

deadening technologies. 

NASA's propfan research 

began in 1975 as an effort to 

curb aircraft fuel consump- 

tion by combining the best 

features of the turbofan en- 

gine and advanced propel- 

lers. Lewis Research Center 

and Hamilton Standard ini- 

tidy conducted extensive 

computer design and wind 

tunnel testing of model 

propfans. By 1980, research 

was sufficiently advanced to 

release the technology to en- 

gine builders, who subse- 

quently started their own 

propfan programs. In 1984, 

Lewis began the PTA 

project. In a cooperative 

NASA/General Electric pro- 

gram, the GE36 Unducted 

Fan was extensively ground 

tested in 1985-86, prior to 

initial flights in 1986. The 

ALlison/Pratt & Whimey 

578-DX, which employs a 

Hamilton Standard propfan, 

was launched in 1986 and 

wind tunnel testing began in 

1987. In May 1988, the 

NASA/industry propfan 

development team was 

awarded the prestigious 

Collier Trophy for a major 

advance in aeropropulsion 

technology. A 

Flight Plan for Tomorrozu 23

High Performance Aircraft 

A 

n airplane's angle of 

attack is the angle between 

the wing and 

the air through which it 

moves. At high angles of attack, 

airflow around the aircraft 

becomes extremely 

complex and accurate information 

about such 

airflows is scant. Most airaafi 

handle poorly at high 

angles of attack, and they 

can fall off into dangerous 

spins. 

Better understanding of 

"high alpha" conditions, as 

NASA refers to them, could 

enable prediction of the 

complex airflow interactions, 

provide design aiteria to 

prevent spins and related 

crashes, and greatly inaease 

the maneuverability of high 

performance jet aircraft. 

Those are the aims of a 

NASA High Alpha Technology 

Program under way at 

Ames-Dryden Flight Research 

Facility. The program 

involves use of a specially 

equipped and instrumented 

F/A-18 Hornet (right) on 

24 Flight Plan fw Tomonmu 

loan from the Navy to inves- 

tigate high alpha airflows 

and to test post-stall maneu- 

verability by thrust vector- 

ing, or deflecting the en- 

gine's exhaust. Managed by 

Ames-Dryden, the program 

is a cooperative dort of 

Ames, Langley and Lewis 

Research Centers. 

The High Alpha program 

is expected to aeate a data 

base and develop methods 

that will permit more &- 

cient design of aircraft and 

thereby minimize costly 

post-production design fixes. 

The F/A-18 research air- 

craft is equipped with sys- 

tems that allow visualization 

of airtlow at high alpha con- 

ditions in addition to instru- 

ments for collecting basic 

dam. Smoke generators 

delineate vortex flows, mini- 

tornados swirling around 

parts of the air& that in- 

aease lift and can potentially 

be used for aircraft control at 

high alpha. Other flow data 

is gathered by injecting col- 

ored dye fluids onto the air 

surfaces. Thrust vector con- 

trol flights are scheduled to 

begin next year and the pro- 

gram is expected to extend 

to autumn 1992. 

Another major project at 

Ames-Dryden is flight test- 

ing of the X-29 advanced 

technology demonstrator 

(above right), built by 

Grumman Aerospace Cor- 

poration for a program spon- 

sored by the Defense Ad- 

vanced Research Projects 

Agency with NASA and Air 

Force support. 

The X-29 features a 

unique forward-swept wing,

- 

made of composite materials, 

that offers weight reduction 

of as much as 20 percent in 

comparison with conventional 

aft-swept wings. 

Among other advanced technologies 

are a digital flight 

control system; flaperons that 

combine the functions of 

flaps and ailerons in a single 

airfoil; and forward "canard" 

wings whose angles relative 

to the airflow are adjusted 

40 times a second as a 

means of improving flight 

efficiency and aircraft agility. 

The X-29 program is intended 

to demonstrate that 

this combination of technologies 

makes it possible to 

build smaller, lighter and 

more efficient aircraft without 

sacrificing performance. 

The X-29 completed the 

first phase of its test program 

in mid-1987; it in- 

cluded 104 flights at speeds 

up to Mach 1.5. In the sec- 

ond phase, now under way, 

researchers are further inves- 

tigating the flight charac- 

teristics of the fore-swept 

wing and the overall perfor- 

mance of the wing and ca- 

nards. Effects of the X-29's 

unique configuration as 

bdet, ground effects and 

structural loads are also be- 

ing studied, as are the air- 

craft's control system and 

handling qualities. A second 

X-29 will join the program 

late in 1988 for high alpha 

tests of this configuration. 

Also in second phase sta- 

tus, after successful condu- 

sion of a 26-fight first 

phase, is the NASA/Air 

Force Mission Adaptive 

Wing (MAW) research air- 

craft, also known as the Ad- 

vanced Fighter Technology 

Integration (AFTI) F- 1 1 1 

(right). The MAW project 

involves investigation of mil- 

itary potential for the vari- 

able camber wing, one 

whose camber-the fore to 

aft curve of the airfoil-can 

be changed in flight. This 

enables the aircraft to fly 

with optimum wing curva- 

ture at subsonic, uansonic 

and supersonic speeds, thus 

offering potential for greater 

tlight efficiency. 

Built by Boeing Military 

Airplane Company, the 

AFTI F- 1 1 1 MAW system 

changes its shape by means 

of computer-controlled hy- 

draulic actuators that move a 

series of smooth-surfaced 

flaps on the wing's leading 

and trailing edges. This is 

more efficient aerodynami- 

cally than the "broken" sur- 

face leading and trailing 

edge flaps of all modem mil- 

itary and commercial aircraft. 

In Phase I, the MAW sys- 

tem was operated only in the 

manual mode, with pre- 

programmed wing curvature 

selected by the pilot. For 

Phase 11, the computers were 

modified to enable auto- 

matic adjustment of wing 

curvature. Phase I1 involves 

completion of manual mode 

tests and evaluation of auto- 

matic MAW operation. 

Computer programs direct 

the system to adjust for opti- 

mum wing performance 

based on pilot inputs and 

other flight conditions. A 

Flight Plan fw Tornorrou, 25

Integrated Controls 

P 

erformance advances 

envisioned for fighter 

aircraft of the 1990s 

could require costly development 

of new engines. But a 

new NASA-developed engine 

control system offers a 

possible alternative: squeezing 

unused power out of existing 

jet engines to gain major 

thrust and fuel economy 

advantages. 

Using new engine/flight 

control integration technology, 

researchers at NASA's 

Ames-Dryden Flight Research 

Facility are demonstrating 

inaeased thrust of 

10 percent and more in an 

F- 15 research air& (right). 

Flight tests have also shown 

that fuel savings of five to 

seven percent may be 

achieved in lieu of higher 

thrust. This inaeased performance 

has been attained 

with only one of the F- 15's 

two engines fitted with the 

new control system. 

The research effort is 

known as the Highly Integrated 

Digital Electronic 

Control (HIDEC) program, 

a cooperative program involving 

NASA, the Air 

Force, F- 15 builder McDonnd 

Douglas Corporation 

and engine builder Pratt & 

Whitney division of United 

Technologies Corporation. 

26 Fligbt Plan fw Tomwmw 

I 

HIDEC gets increased 

performance by trading un- 

needed engine stall margin 

(the amount of engine op- 

erating pressure for addi- 

tional thrust reduction re- 

quired to avoid stall at any 

given instant). A typical jet 

engine stall margin is 25 

percent, because designers 

have to allow for the worst 

combination of flight condi- 

tions the airaafi may en- 

counter. That 25 percent 

margin can reduce the en- 

gine's usable power by about 

15 percent. 

The HIDEC system, in 

which engine and flight con- 

trol systems communicate 

with each other, allows the 

engine to adjust itself to the 

minimal stall margin for any 

flight condition, down to 

about 12 percent, for a sub- 

stantial gain in usable power. 

Flight condition information, 

such as attitudes, rates and 

pilot commands, are pro- 

vided to the HIDEC and 

analyzed. In addition, 

HIDEC anticipates flight 

conditions in advance to 

select the minimal margin 

required for that instant of 

flight. The appropriate com- 

mands are then made to the 

digital engine control system, 

which adjusts the engine 

nozzle to provide the correct 

operating pressure. 

The Ames-Dryden F-15 

has one standard F-100 en- 

gine plus a Pratt & Whimey 

1 128 research engine with 

the digital electronic controls. 

In addition, the F- 15 has a 

digital electronic flight con- 

trol system. The flight test 

program has been under way 

since June 1986. A

Computer Design 

I 

n aeronautics, researchers 

create mathematical 

models of flight vehicles 

and "fly" them by computer 

simulation, thus allowing 

study of many Werent configurations 

before settling on 

a final design. Called computational 

simulation, this 

technique has expanded 

enormously in recent years to 

embrace calculation and visual 

imagery of many types 

of forces acting upon flight 

vehicles, including phenomena 

that cannot be realistically 

simulated in a wind 

tunnel. 

The world's most advanced 

computational system, 

now operational, is 

NASA's Numerical Aerodynamic 

Simulation (NAS) 

facility. Located at Ames 

Research Center, it is a 

supercomputer system being 

developed in building block 

fashion toward an eventual 

capability of 10 billion calculations 

a second. 

NAS is an evolutionary 

effort to permit realization of 

a major goal of aeronautical 

science: the ability to simulate 

routinely the complex 

three-dimensional airflow 

around a complete airplane 

and its propulsion system. 

Such a capability will allow 

solution of many previously 

intractable problems and 

make possible many of the 

calculations required to de- 

velop advanced air& with 

greater accuracy and reliabil- 

ity. NAS will not only im- 

prove the design process, 

providing costs savings and 

aircraft performance gains, it 

will also reduce the long and 

expensive wind tunnel and 

flight testing essential to fi- 

nal validation of a design. 

The key to attainment of 

that goal is far greater com- 

puter capability than has 

been available. NASA is in- 

corporating the latest 

supercomputing technology 

as it becomes available, so 

that NAS serves as an ad- 

vanced pathfinder in 

supercomputing for govern- 

ment, industry and universi- 

ties. Since 1986, when the 

facility went into limited op- 

eration with a capability of 

250 million calculations a 

second, the NAS computa- 

tional capability has been 

boosted fourfold, to one bil- 

lion calculations a second. A 

near term goal for the early 

1990s is a NAS memory of 

one billion words and com- 

puter power for four billion 

calculations a second. The 

long term goal of 10 billion 

calculations a second is tar- 

geted for the late 1990s. 

Such computational capabil- 

ity will not only provide 

enormous impetus to aero- 

space research and develop- 

ment, it will also permit ma- 

jor advances in other areas, 

such as non-aerospace 

structural design, materials 

research, chemistry and 

weather research. A 

Flagbt Plan for Tomm 27

Icing Research 

T 

oday's commercial aircraft 

are adequately 

protected against such 

hazards of ice formation as 

reduced lift, increased drag, 

stall, engine power loss or 

otha problems. But the 

need for aircraft icing research 

has not abated. In 

fact, it has inaeased in recent 

years for a variety of 

reasons. 

For example, bleeding hot 

air from a jetliner's engine 

and routing it to airplane 

surfaces is a highly effective 

way of controlling icing, but 

it can be costly when fuel 

prices go up and a less expensive 

approach is an attractive 

research goal. Helicopters 

are finding greater 

use in both military and civil 

aviation and they exhibit 

unique icing problems. Similarly, 

advanced military aircraft 

require new ice protection 

concepts compatible 

with their unique designs. 

And there is special need for 

reasonably priced ice protection 

systems for general 

aviation air&. 

Thus, NASA conducts a 

continuing program of antiicing 

research with its focal 

point at Lewis Research Center. 

One aim is development 

of technology for ice protection 

systems that are more 

effective yet require less 

28 Flight Plan fw Tomormu, 

weight and power than con- 

temporary systems. Another 

is simply to learn more 

about icing-how ice forms 

under different environmen- 

tal conditions, how it 

changes the aerodynamics of 

an aircraft, generally how it 

influences fhght. 

Lewis conducts laboratory 

and flight investigations of a 

generic nature toward im- 

proved understanding of 

icing physics that will enable 

better prediction of ice acae- 

tion. The center also investi- 

gates speufic problem areas 

and experimental systems, 

looking for ways to prevent 

ice from forming, ways of re- 

moving it, or both. Among 

types of ice protection sys- 

tems being investigated are 

electrothermal (heat applica- 

component's freezing point. 

For this work, Lewis has 

available a historic facility

that played a major role in 

anti-icing advances of the 

past four decades-the Icing 

Research Tunnel (IRT), 

which has been formally des- 

ignated an International His- 

torical Mechanical Engineer- 

ing Landmark by the 

American Society of Me- 

chanical Engineers. First op- 

erated in 1944, the IRT un- 

derwent a major renovation 

in 1986 to expand its ca- 

pabilities and enable it to 

cope with a substantially in- 

creased workload. It is ex- 

periencing heavy demand 

from government and indus- 

try organizations seeking 

solutions to modern icing 

problems. 

At upper left is the IRT's 

4,160 horsepower fan drive 

system capable of generating 

simulated airspeeds up to 

300 miles per hour while a 

2,000-ton cooler lowers the 

temperature as far as 30 de- 

grees below zero Fahrenheit. 

At left is the tunnel's icing 

spray system. At right above, 

a Lewis engineer is examin- 

ing the mil of a general avia- 

tion airplane after an IRT 

test of glaze ice accumula- 

tion. Right, a researcher is 

inspecting ice buildup on the 

foreign object deflator screen 

of the engine of a Boeing 

CH-47 military helicopter. A 

Flight Plan for Tmonmu 29

Exploring the Cosmos 

A new NASA strategic plan 

for space science promises 

dramatic expansion of 

man's knowledge about 

Earth and its place in 

the universe. 

30 Exploring the Cosmos 

? y the dawn of the 2 1st century, advances 

in U.S. space science will bring 

* about far deeper understanding of the 

Earth we inhabit, the solar system and the 

universe, an expansion of knowledge as revolutionary 

as that which occurred when the 

16th century astronomer Copernicus showed 

that Earth was not the center of the universe. 

Our way of thinking about Earth's and 

man's uniqueness in the universe will 

change; we will have good estimates of how 

many stars have planets and we will have 

images of at least one planet beyond the solar 

system. The question of whether the universe 

is expanding indefinitely or whether it will at 

some future time begin to contract may have 

been answered. Robotic spacecraft will have 

examined all the planets and moons of our 

solar system except Pluto and its satellite 

Charon. Our own Moon will have been studied 

in greater detail and its surface mineral 

and element composition determined. Mars 

will similarly undergo dose scrutiny as a 

preliminary to developing plans for a human 

expedition to the Red Planet. 

We will have peered into the early history 

of the solar system through space-based 

supertelescopes and through study at dose 

range of the most primitive, unaltered bodies-comets 

and asteroids. We will have a 

spacecraft orbiting Saturn and it will have 

dispatched a probe into the thick, murky 

atmosphere of Saturn's moon Titan, whose 

evolution may hold dues to the appearance 

of life on Earth. From an intense, multiyear 

study of Earth by a great variety of spacebased 

instruments, we will have enormously 

advanced our understanding of the Earth system 

on a global scale. And, at century's end, 

a probe from Earth will be speeding toward 

the unexplored region dose to the Sun, to 

enhance man's capability to predict the 

behavior of the star that is central to the 

destiny of the solar system and humanity. 

These are a few of many exciting views of 

tomorrow offered in "a dear vision of a de- 

sired future" advanced by NASA's Office of 

Space Science and Applications (OSSA) in its 

Strategic Plan 1988. OSSA proposes a broad 

scientific research and applications program 

designed to maintain U.S. leadership in 

space, reaffirmed as a fundamental objective 

in the revised 1988 National Space Policy 

directive. 

The science program is based on assump- 

tions that NASA's overall space plan will 

proceed generally as envisioned, that the 

NASA budget will continue to grow to ac- 

commodate expanded aims, and that space 

science will be allocated a proportion of the 

overall budget consistent with historical lev- 

els. However, the strategy calls for a flexible 

process that allows adjustment to varying 

budget levels. 

Strategic Plan 1988 retains the traditional 

focus of space science activity-advancing 

scientific knowledge of Earth, the solar sys- 

tem and the universe-and additionally sup- 

ports NASA's new goal of expanding human 

presence beyond Earth by providing the sci- 

entific research foundation essential to plan 

major humans-in-space initiatives. 

As in the past, space science goals will be 

pursued through an integrated program of 

ground-based laboratory research; suborbital 

flight of instruments carried by aircraft, bal- 

loons and sounding rockets; orbital flight of 

instruments aboard the Space Station, the 

Space Shuttle and its Spacelab component, 

and on commercially developed facilities; 

and by flight operations of automated Earth 

orbiting and interplanetary spacecraft. 

Pursuit of space leadership is best served 

by "major" missions that provide quantum 

leaps in scientific/technological advancement. 

When available resources do not permit a 

major program, NASA will pursue a scaled

down "moderate" mission that will still offer 

significant advancement and visibility. The 

plan proposes initiation of at least one major 

or moderate mission a year. 

But "small'* missions are also viml to the 

program, because they can be accomplished 

relatively inexpensively, allow quicker consid- 

eration of more innovative ideas, and they 

can be conducted on a short time scale, offer- 

ing fast nunaround and continuing opportu- 

nity. The plan contemplates start of a small 

mission every year, in conjunction with a 

major or moderate mission. 

The strategic plan is subdivided into seven 

divisions, including astrophysics, the study of 

distant stars and galaxles toward an under- 

standing of the origin and fkte of the uni- 

verse; solar system exploration, investigation 

of the planets, moons, comets and other bod- 

ies of the solar system; and space physics, 

which involves investigations of the origin, 

evolution and interactions of plasma 

(ionized gases) originating in the solar system 

and beyond. 

A subdivision that will get considerable 

research emphasis is Earth science and appli- 

cations, which seeks understanding of the 

factors that influence Earth's environment 

and use of the knowledge gained to benefit 

humanity. A related applications area is 

development of communications and 

information systems technology to meet the 

future needs of government and the satellite 

communications industry, 

The other two subdivisions are 

microgravity science and applications (see 

page 46) and life sciences. The latter is 

aimed at understanding the origin and 

distribution of life in the universe and at 

uthing the space environment to improve 

knowledge in medicine and biology, with 

special emphasis on assuring that humans 

can perform safely and &ectively in space. 

(ContimedJ 

I 

-- Encased in thermal insulation to 

keep temperatures of the spacecraft 

structure even, the Hubble 

Space Telescope is shown being 

moved to a thermal vacuum 

chamber for an April 1988 environmental 

test. One of the keystone 

elements of NASA's space 

- science strategic plan for the remainder 

of the century, the telescope 

is shown at left as it will 

look in orbit after its 1989 launch. 

Exploring the Cosmos 31

Exploring the COS~OS (Contiwed) 

- The Cosmic Background Explorer The year 1989 promises to be a year of 

will study the radiation emitted by unparalleled space science activity, with 

celestial objects seeking clues as scheduled launches of five major new proto 

the earliest beginning and struc- p~, the A~~~~~ arrival of the Vower 

tures of the universe. 2 spacecraft at distant Neptune, one of two 

as yet unexplored planets. 

Targeted for February launch by an expendable 

launch vehicle is the Cosmic Background 

Explorer, a two-and-a-half ton observatory 

designed expressly to investigate 

the Big Bang theory of the origin of the 

universe. 

In April, the Space Shuttle will dispatch 

the Magellan spacd toward Venus to 

map the neighbor planet with unprecedented 

precision. In June, the Shuttle is expected to 

deliver to orbit the Hubble Space Telescope, 

widely considered to be the most important 

scientific instrument ever designed for use in 

space. 

32 Exploring the Cannos 

Scheduled for October Shuttle launch is 

Galileo, intended to probe Jupiter in the 

most comprehensive investigation yet con- 

ducted of a planet other than Earth. And in 

November the Shuttle will carry aloft a new 

astronomical system called the Asuo Obser- 

vatory, designed for ultraviolet and x-ray im- 

aging of the universe. 

During 1989, development will continue 

on a number of missions planned for launch 

from 1990 through 1993. Among them are 

the Gamma Ray Observatory, second--after 

the Hubble Space Telescope-of the Great 

Observatories; the Ulysses solar polar mis- 

sion; the Wind, Polar and Geotail satellites 

of the international cooperative Global Geo- 

science Program; and the Mars Observer, 

which will conduct a long term investigation 

of the Red Planet. NASA also plans to start 

work in 1989 on the third of the Great Ob- 

servatories, the Advanced X-ray Astrophysics 

Facility. 

Additionally, 1989 activity will include 

development-for operation in 1990- 

1993--a series of experiment packages to be 

flown in the Shuttle-based Spacelab system; 

they include several life science missions, two 

rniaogravity research laboratories, several 

atmospheric science laboratories, two 

astronomy laboratories and two space radar 

laboratories. 

ALL of the major projects in the 1989 on- 

going program will have been launched by 

1993. Since it takes about six years to de- 

velop a new major flight project, it will be 

necessary, during 1990- 1994, to select and 

initiate the successors to the ongoing pro- 

gram. The suategic plan contemplates these 

major missions: 

The Comet Rendezvous Asteroid Flyby, a 

closeup look at an asteroid followed by a 

multiyear rendezvous with a comet. 

Cassini, a comprehensive investigation of 

Saturn, its major moon Titan, its rings and 

other moons.

One of two planetary missions 

planned for launch in 1989, 

Galileo is a two-element space- 

craft that includes a Jupiter-orbit- 

ing observatory and a probe that 

will descend into the Jovian 

atmosphere. 

The Earth Observing System, centerpiece The High Resolution Solar Observatory, a The Shuttle-based Astro Observaof 

a long term integrated study of Planet platform for studying in visible light the tory, scheduled for first service 

Earth and global change. 

The Space Infmed Telescope Facility, 

fourth and last of the Great Observatories. 

The Solar Probe, man's 6rst direct exploratory 

venture to the vicinity of the Sun. 

fundamental processes of the Sun's surface 

atmosphere. 

The Lunar Observer, a long duration 

mapping mission to measure the Moon's 

surface composition and to assess its 

resources. 

Gravity Probe-B, which will test Einstein's 

theory of general relativity. 

These programs are amplified on the 

following pages. A 

late in 1989, will view the sky in 

ultraviolet light not visible on Earth 

and provide high-resolution x-ray 

views of a recently-discovered 

supernova.

Solar System Exploration 

I 

n August 1989, the 

Voyager 2 s p a d will 

make a close encounter 

with the planet Neptune, 

reaching its closest point on 

August 25 (below), when 

Earth and Neptune will be 

separated by 2.8 billion 

miles. Already a veteran of 

hlghly successful imaging encounters 

with Jupiter, Saturn 

and Uranus, Voyager 2 will 

be more than 12 years out of 

home port Earth. The images 

it returns will provide 

man's first real look at Neptune, 

because the planet is 

not visible to the unaided 

eye and even to large 

telescopes it shows up as a 

small, greenish disc in which 

no sutfxe detail is visible. 

34 Exploring the C0rm0~ 

Managed by Jet Propul- 

sion Laboratory UPL), the 

Voyager project exemplifies 

NASA's solar system ex- 

ploration program, aimed at 

understandmg how the solar 

system and its objects 

formed, evolved and-in at 

least one instance-produced 

an environment capable of 

sustaining life. The program 

also seeks greater knowledge 

of Earth through "compara- 

tive planetology,," the science 

of relating phenomena on 

one planet to conditions on 

another and learning why 

the planets are so different 

from each other. An ancillary 

goal of the program is to es- 

tablish a scientific/technid 

base for undertaking major 

human endeavors in space; 

this aspect of the program 

involves swey of near-Earth 

resources, characterization of 

planetary sutfaces and a 

search for life on other 

planets. 

NASA's planetary 

exploration dort is built 

around the recommendations 

of the govemment/indus~ry/ 

universities Solar System Exploration 

Committee (SSEC), 

formed in 1980 to develop a 

long range program. Stressing 

cost effectiveness and use 

of existing technology to the 

extent possible, SSEC's Core 

Program recommended a 

continuing series of modest 

Planetary Observer missions 

to explore the inner planets 

and near-Earth asteroids, 

using reconfigured "off-theshelf" 

Earth orbital spaced. 

Additionally, SSEC 

recommended a complementary 

series to explore the 

outer planets, comets and asteroids, 

these missions would 

employ a common, basic 

Mariner Mark I1 spacecraft 

with evolving technological 

capabilities for a variety of 

exploratory assignments. 

In April 1989, NASA 

will launch the h t planetary 

mission since Voyagers 1 

and 2 departed Earth in 

1977. Called Magellan, it 

will orbit Venus and image 

in never-before-seen high 

resolution views of the surface 

of the cloud-shrouded 

planet for continuing comparative 

studies of Earth and 

Venus, two neighbor planets 

similar in many respects that 

have evolved in strikingly 

different fashion. Using an 

advanced system called a 

synthetic apermre radar, Ma- 

gellan will map more than 

90 percent of Venus' surface 

with resolutions 10 times 

better than the best obtained 

by prior spaced. Magellan 

is managed by JPL; Martin 

Marietta is developing the 

spacecraft and Hughes Air- 

aaft the advanced imaging 

radar. 

On the currently planned 

schedule, October 1989 will 

see the second planetary mis- 

sion of the year-Galileo, a 

long term Jupiter-orbiting 

observatory that will also 

carry a probe to investigate 

Jupiter's aunosphere. Deliv- 

ered to Earth orbit by the 

Space Shuttle, Galileo will 

be boosted into a trajectory 

that will take it six years to 

reach Jupiter. As it ap- 

proaches the giant planet in 

mid- 1995, Galileo will re- 

lease the probe to descend by 

parachute into the Jovian at- 

mosphere. The main space- 

craft will swing into orbit 

around Jupiter, in dect be- 

coming a man-made moon, 

transmitting-for at least 

two years-high quality im- 

ages and instrument data

from many different vantage 

points. Galileo is a cooperative 

program with the Federal 

Republic of Germany. 

JPL is project manager and 

builder of the main spaced; 

Ames Research Center 

has responsibility for the enuy 

probe, which was built 

by Hughes Air& and 

General Electric Company. 

A third authorized planetary 

mission is the Mars Observer 

(above), first of the 

Planetary Observer series. 

Slated for 1992 launch, the 

spacecraft will operate as a 

Martian moon, providing remotely 

sensed data of the 

planet's surface with the 

highest resolution yet attained 

and reporting data in 

two general areas: geoscience 

and climatology. JPL man- 

ages the program; General 

Electric's Astro-Space Divi- 

sion is developing the 

spacecraft. 

The second planned (but 

not yet authorized) Planetary 

Observer is the Lunar Ob- 

server, one of the highest 

priorities in the space science 

strategic plan. The Lunar 

Observer is intended to con- 

duct a one-year, polar orbit 

mapping mission, measure 

the Moon's mineral and ele- 

mental composition, assess 

its resources, measure surface 

topography and magnetic/ 

gravitational fields. In addi- 

tion to acquiring a wealth of 

scientific information, the 

Lunar Observer will contrib- 

ute to NASA's goal of pre- 

paring the way for a possible 

human outpost on the Moon. 

NASA hopes to inaugu- 

rate the Mariner Mark I1 se- 

ries in the 1990s with the 

Comet Rendezvous Asteroid 

Flyby (CRAF). Comets and 

asteroids have never been 

observed at dose range. Be- 

cause they are small and 

"cold" bodies, comets and 

asteroids did not evolve as 

did the major bodies of the 

solar system, thus they 

remain largely unchanged 

from their formation four 

and a half billion years ago 

and investigation of their 

chemical and elemental com- 

position offers an opportu- 

nity to observe material as it 

existed when the solar sys- 

tem was born. The CRAF 

plan envisions a dose flyby 

of a main belt asteroid 

(above) followed by a 

multiyear rendezvous and 

doseup study of a comet's 

nudeus, dust and auno- 

sphere. 

The second mission 

planned for the Mariner 

Mark I1 series is Cassini, a 

comprehensive scientific 

examination of Saturn, in- 

duding probe study of the 

surface and atmosphere of 

Titan, Saturn's principal 

moon. 

In addition to these flight 

programs, the solar system 

exploration plan indudes 

development of new Earth- 

orbiting satellites for inter- 

planetary research, use of the 

Hubble Space Telescope, and 

interplanetary research pay- 

loads attached to the sac- 

me of the Space Station. A 

Exploring the Co~mos 35

1 

Astronomy and Astrophysics 

I 

n 1989, the Space Shuttle 

will deliver to low 

Earth orbit the largest 

and perhaps most scientiiically 

important payload ever 

built, the 12?4-ton, 43-foot 

Hubble Space Telescope 

(HST), first of four planned 

Great Observatories. Managed 

by Marshall Space 

Fhght Center, the HST will 

be able to look back in time 

some 14 billion years, 

observing the universe as it 

existed early in its lifetime, 

when galaxies were being 

formed. 

Designed to operate well 

into the 2 1st century, the 

HST will enormously expand 

the viewable volume of the 

universe, will return images 

with extraorchary clarity 

and will detect very dim 

objects that have never been 

observed. The spacecraft was 

developed by Lockheed Missiles 

& Space Company and 

the optical assembly by 

Perkin-Elmer Corporation. 

The European Space Agency 

fbnished the power generating 

array and one of the system's 

five major instruments. 

Goddard Space Flight Center 

will control the telescope 

and process its data when 

the HST is on orbit. 

The HST is the centerpiece 

of NASA's astrophysics 

program, which seeks unprecedented 

understanding 

of the origin and fate of the 

universe, the underlying fun- 

damental laws of nature and 

physics that govern the cos- 

mos, and the birth and evo- 

lutionary cycles of galaxles, 

smrs and planets. 

Observation of celestial 

phenomena from orbit, 

above the distorting layer of 

aunosphere that surrounds 

Earth, offers an opportunity 

to observe the universe not 

only in visible light but in 

other forms of radiation that 

are largely invisible to 

ground observatories because 

they are absorbed or filtered 

I The other two Great Ob- 

by the atmosphere. Thus, servatories, not yet in full 

one of the primary objectives scale development, are the 

of the astrophysics program Advanced X-ray Astrophys- 

is to observe in all four ma- ics Facility (AXAF) and the 

jor wavelength regions of the Space Infrared Telescope Fa- 

electromagnetic spectrum- cility (SIRTF). A 10-ton ob- 

the infrared, optical/ultra- servatory capable of being 

violet, x-ray and gamma ray serviced in orbit for an ex- 

bands. tended lifetime, AXAF 

The HST will view in (above right) will have in- 

the visible and ultraviolet smunents 100 times more 

wavelengths. Its findings will sensitive than those of any 

be augmented, beginning in previous x-ray mission. Sim- 

1990, by the Goddard-man- ilarly, SIRTF will have radia- 

aged Gamma Ray Observa- tion detectors 1,000 times 

tory (GRO), a joint develop- more sensitive than those of 

ment of the U.S., West a predecessor system to study 

Germany, The Netherlands irhred emissions from a 

and the United Kingdom. great variety of objects from 

The second of the Great Ob- solar system bodies to galax- 

servatories, the GRO ies at the edge of the uni- 

(above) will investigate verse. The highest priority 

gamma radiation, the most 

energetic of all forms of radi- 

ation, and its violent 

sources-pulsars, quasars, 

black holes and other objects 

that have not been identified 

in any other wavelengths. 

for the astrophysics program 

is to get all four Great Ob- 

servatories operating to- 

gether, viewing throughout 

the electromagnetic spectrum 

to observe the full range of 

phenomena in the universe, 

from the most tranquil to 

the most violent. 

Initial observations by the 

fmt two Great Observa- 

tories-HST and GRO- 

will be complemented by in- 

formation from three major 

spacd to be launched in 

1989-9 1. 

The Cosmic Background 

Explorer (COBE) will kick 

off the post-Challenger space 

science flight program next 

February. COBE will study 

background radiations be- 

lieved to be remnants of the 

primeval explosion known as 

the Big Bang. This monu- 

mental explosion, according 

to the Big Bang theory of 

the origin of the universe, 

happened some 15 billion 

years ago and triggered a

uniform expansion of the 

universe that has continued 

ever since. COBE, being de- 

veloped by Goddard Space 

Flight Center, will seek evi- 

dence to support the theory. 

Under joint development 

by NASA and West Ger- 

many for 1990 launch is 

ROSAT (for Roentgensa- 

tellit), an x-ray telescope and 

imaging system that will 

conduct a sweeping survey of 

x-ray sources and make ded- 

icated observations of specific 

sources, allowing astronomers 

to study in greater detail 

many of the phenomena dis- 

covered, but not thoroughly 

investigated, by earlier x-ray 

satellites. Goddard is 

NASA's ROSAT manager. 

For launch in 1991, 

NASA is developing another 

of the continuing Explorer 

series called EUVE, for Ex- 

treme Ultraviolet Explorer 

(right), referring to a %ave- 

length band between the ul- 

traviolet and x-ray ranges 

that has never been sur- 

veyed. The EWE project is 

managed by Jet Propulsion 

Laboratory. 

Planned for development 

is the Stratospheric Observa- 

tory for Infrared Astronomy 

(SOFIA). The SOFIA sys- 

tem includes a three-meter 

telescope mounted in a 

Boeing 747 transport for air- 

borne observations in infra- 

red wavelengths inaccessible 

from the ground. Since the 

SIRTF Great Observatory 

will not fly until the late 

1990s, SOFIA will allow in- 

frared research continuity in 

the interim and will comple- 

ment SIRTF when the latter 

becomes operational. 

In addition, the astrophys- 

ics program will be sup- 

ported by a series of inter- 

mediate and small free flying 

satellites of the Explorer Pro- 

gram, which has for many 

years offered flight oppom- 

nities for modest scale instru- 

ment packages in astrophys- 

ics, space physics and 

atmospheric research. A

Space Physics 

IC he space physics por- 

tion of NASA's space 

science program is 

concerned with investigation 

of space plasmas in a quest 

for expanded knowledge of 

their origin, evolution and 

interactions. Plasmas are ion- 

ized gases that exist in a 

wide variety of forms; they 

represent a form of matter 

distinct from solids, liquids 

or normal gases and they are 

believed to make up 99 per- 

cent of the material in the 

universe. An example of a 

plasma system is the solar 

wind, the electrified gas 

emitted by the Sun that 

courses through the solar sys- 

tem at a million miles an 

hour and interacts with the 

atmospheres and magnetic 

fields of the planets. Study 

and analysis of space plasma 

offers greater understanding 

of the complex processes 

that govern Earth and the 

universe. 

The space physics effort 

seeks knowledge of plasma 

phenomena in the 

ionospheres and magneto- 

spheres of Earth and the 

other planets and in the 

heliosphere, the area of space 

over which the Sun's gases 

and magnetic field extend. 

One aspect of this research is 

study of the Sun as a source 

of plasma, energy and ener- 

getic particles; another is 

38 Exploring the Cosmos 

study of how energetic parti- 

cles, originating within or 

beyond the solar system, are 

accelerated, transported and 

distributed in space. 

Information on such 

phenomena is obtained by 

instrumented probes operat- 

ing within a plasma system, 

such as the heliosphere or a 

planetary magnetosphere; by 

investigating galactic cosmic 

rays from Earth orbiting 

spacecraft, and by remote 

sensing of regions not di- 

rectly accessible to probes, 

such as the Sun's surface. 

In 1988, there were five 

U.S. spacecraft collecting 

valuable information about 

the Sun, the interplanetary 

medium and cosmic rays 

penetrating that medium, 

and plasma interactions in 

the Sun-Earth relationship. 

Years of such research have 

led to identification and 

classification of a wide range 

of plasma phenomena and to 

some understanding of cause 

and effect relationships. 

NASA's space science plan 

builds upon that base and is 

moving into an advanced 

phase. 

A mission of great impor- 

tance is Ulysses, a cooper- 

ative endeavor of the Euro- 

pean Space Agency and 

NASA, with Jet Propulsion 

Laboratory as NASA's 

project manager. Ulysses 

(above) will embark in 1990 

on a multiyear mission that 

will take the spacecraft "out 

of the ecliptic." The ecliptic 

is an imaginary plane that 

approximates an extension of 

the Sun's equator; since all 

spacecraft have operated 

dose to that plane, the space 

above or below the ecliptic is 

still unexplored and of great 

scientific interest. Flying a 

path that will take it eventu- 

ally around the poles of the 

Sun, Ulysses will report- 

from the fresh perspective of 

a never before penetrated re- 

gion of the heliosphere-on 

such subjects as the solar 

wind, solar and galactic radi- 

ation, cosmic dust and solar/ 

interplanetary magnetic 

fields. 

Also scheduled for launch 

in 1990 is the Combined 

Release and Radiation Ef- 

fects Satellite, which will 

map Earth's radiation belts 

during a period of maxi- 

mum solar activity and will 

also analyze the chemistry of 

Earth's ionosphere and 

magnetosphere by releasing 

chemicals and observing the 

resultant reactions. Planned 

for 1991 service is the Teth- 

ered Satellite System (TSS), 

a cooperative program with 

Italy, managed for NASA by 

Marshall Space Flight Cen- 

ter. The TSS (right) will be 

suspended from the payload 

bay of the Space Shuttle Or- 

biter by a 20-kilometer-long 

conducting cable, through 

which electrical jolts will be 

transmitted to enable investi- 

gation of upper atmosphere 

electrodynamic plasma effects 

at induced voltages. 

A multiple flight effort to 

begin in the early 1990s is 

the international cooperative 

Global Geospace Science 

(GGS) program, which has 

two components: the Inter- 

national Solar Terrestrial 

Physics (ISTP) program and 

the Solar Terrestrial Research 

Program (STRP). ISTP in- 

volves two NASA spacecraft 

designated Polar and Wind, 

plus a Japanese mission 

called Geotail, which will 

study from different orbits 

the physical processes that 

link Earth and the Sun. 

The companion STRP will 

include a Solar and

Heliospheric Observatory 

that will study the solar 

wind from an orbit between 

Earth and the Moon, plus a 

four-unit team of small 

spacecraft, co~ectively known 

as Cluster, operating in orbit 

around Earth's poles. In the 

latter project, the European 

Space Agency will provide 

the spacecraft and NASA 

the instrumentation. Goddard 

Space Flight Center will 

control and coordinate all of 

the GGS spacecraft. 

The highest priority space 

physics mission planned is 

the Solar Probe, which will 

investigate the unexplored 

region between four and 60 

radii from the Sun, where 

the solar wind begins to flow 

at supersonic speeds. The Solar 

Probe will measure electromagnetic 

fields and particle 

frequencies, and it will 

study the Sun as a star, observing 

the structure of the 

solar atmosphere and making 

measurements relating to 

the stellar inner structure, 

gravitation and relativity. A 

related mission planned is 

the High Resolution Solar 

Observatory, a platform for 

studying the processes of the 

Sun's surface atmosphere. 

Other space physics 

projects indude payloads to 

be attached to the Space Station 

structure, Shuttle-based 

systems, small satellites of 

the Explorer program and 

instrumented sounding 

rodcet and balloon payloads. 

A 

Exploring the Cosmos 39

Earth Science and Applications 

T 

raditionally, scientific 

knowledge of Earth 

and its environment 

has advanced piecemeal 

through separate investigations 

of the individual components: 

the planet's interior, 

its crust, biosphere, oceans 

and ice cover, the atmosphere 

and the ionosphere. 

Recent research has dernonstrated, 

however, that all 

these components are interlinked, 

or coupled. NASA's 

new aim, therefore, is to 

study the Earth as a single 

d e d system, to learn how 

the components and their interactions 

have evolved and 

will evolve in the future. The 

ultimatc goals are a complete 

understanding of the Earth 

system on a global scale and 

a capability for predicting 

the environmental changes 

that will occur decades or 

~en~ies hence, whether 

those changes derive from 

natural causes or from 

human activities. 

ir: Major steps toward those 

goals are promised by two 

major missions already in 

/ development and intended 

for service in the early 

r 

1990s. One is the Upper 

Aunosphere Research Satel- 

lite (UARS), being devel- 

oped by General Electric's 

RCA Astro-Space Division 

under Goddard Space Flight 

Center management. UARS 

40 eXpIoring the Cosmos 

(top) will report global data 

about the composition and 

dynamics of the upper atmo- 

sphere over a span of several 

years. Among major objec- 

tives are understanding of 

the mechanisms that control 

the structure and variability 

of the upper aunosphere and 

the role of the upper atmo- 

sphere in dimate and di- 

matic changes. 

The other program is 

TOPEX (Ocean Topography 

Experiment), an ocean ob- 

servation satellite designed to 

make highly accurate mea- 

surements of sea s h e 

elevations over entire ocean 

basins for several years. Inte- 

grated with subsdace mea- 

surements, this information 

will be used in models to de- 

termine ocean circulation and 

its variability. TOPEX 

(right) will sigdicantly ex- 

pand knowledge of ocean 

dynamics and it will also es- 

tablish an informational base 

for practical applications, 

such as weather and dimate 

prediction, coastal storm 

warning, maritime safety, 

ship design and routing, and 

food production from ocean 

sources. 

The Earth science center- 

piece planned for the 1990s 

is the Earth Observing Sys- 

tem (EOS), not a speafic 

satellite but a "suite" of in- 

struments to operate from a 

number of satellites and 

from a new generation of 

polar-orbiting platforms ex- 

pected to be operational in 

the 1990s. EOS will dow, hensive study of the global- 

for the first time, long term scale processes that shape 

(15 years or more) consistent and influence Earth as a 

measurements of global system. 

changes, enabling compre- EOS fin* will be 

complemented by new Earth 

science satellites, such as a 

proposed Mesosphere and 

Lower Thermosphere Ex- 

plorer, by a series of small 

missions called Earth probes.

y Shuttle-based systems, 

and by air&-based remote 

sensing systems. 

An Earth-related but sep- 

arate subdivision of the 

space science program is re- 

search on communications 

systems. The best known ex- 

ample of NASA's work in 

the area of communications 

applications is the SARSAT 

(Search and Rescue Satellite- 

Aided Tracking) program. 

SARSAT is not a satellite 

but a package of electronic 

equipment carried aboard 

weather satellites operated by 

the National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration. 

It is a component of the in- 

ternational search and rescue 

system known as COSPAS/ 

SARSAT. 

The space portion of the 

system, a cooperative pro- 

gram involving the U.S., 

the U.S.S.R., Canada and 

France, consists of monitor- 

ing payloads aboard two 

U.S. and two Soviet satel- 

lites. Seven other nations are 

participants in ground-based 

satellite signal reception and 

processing. The electronic 

payloads "listen" continu- 

ously on emergency frequen- 

cies used by ships and air- 

&, which carry radio 

beacons to signal emergen- 

cies. When a COSPAS/ 

SARSAT monitor picks up 

an emergency signal, it notes 

the direction of the signal 

and relays that information 

to a ground station, which 

provides a position fix for 

the emergency site and alerts 

the appropriate search and 

rescue agency. As of July 

1988, COSPAS/SARSAT 

was aedited with saving 

more than 1,100 lives. 

Also in July, the four 

principal nations signed an 

intergovernmental agreement 

committing to long term 

support of the international 

search and rescue system, 

available to all nations with- 

out charge to users in dis- 

tress. NASA's Goddard 

Space Flight Center contin- 

ues to develop technology to 

improve the SARSAT sys- 

tem, experimenting with 

geostationary satellites as a 

possible means of shortening 

alert time and seeking better 

location accuracy. 

The major planned effort 

in NASA's communications 

research program is the 

Advanced Communications 

Technology Satellite (ACTS), 

being developed by General 

Electric's RCA Asuo-Space 

Division under the manage- 

ment of Lewis Research Cen- 

ter. Planned for launch in 

the early 1990s, ACTS 

(above) represents an effort 

to help maintain U.S. leader- 

ship in the world's commer- 

cial communications satellite 

market and to develop com- 

munications technology that 

will enhance future space 

missions. 

ACTS incorporates several 

revolutionary technologies 

designed to make more 

effective use of available 

frequencies, to inaease the 

message handling capacity of 

the individual satellite, and 

to provide a capability for 

high volume communica- 

tions relay to small Earth ter- 

minals. A major innovation 

is the "spot beam" ap- 

proach, in which advanced 

satellite equipment will gen- 

erate multiple message carry- 

ing spot beams, each focused 

on a narrow Earth region, 

rather than the wide beams 

generated by existing com- 

munications satellites. Use of 

this technique dords si@- 

cant capacity gain but it de- 

mands extensive technology 

development, including new 

types of antennas in space 

and on the ground, and a 

complex, computer-directed 

switching system on board 

the satellite to shifi the 

beams rapidly among target 

spots on Earth. A 

EupIoring the Connos 41

Commercial Use of Space 

NASA seeks to stimulate 

R 

ecognizing that development of space 

has broad economic potential, the 

interest and investment in Congress-in 1984--amended the 

National Aeronautics and Space Act to give 

space-related ventures to NASA a new mandate: "Seek and encourage 

to the maximum extent the commercial use 

of space." 

assure U.S. leadership in 

commercial space activity 

42 Conrmial UI~ of Space 

Respondmg to that mandate, NASA has 

forged a working partnership with U.S. in- 

dustrial firms interested in the space poten- 

tial. The agency has supported the privatiza- 

tion of spaceprivate sector operation of 

activities earlier carried out by the govem- 

ment--and provided American companies a 

technological/institutional base for exploring 

and developing new technologies, products 

and services with commercial value. 

In the latter area, this year marks the re- 

sumption of flight activity after a hiatus of 

more than two and a half years occasioned 

by the Challenger accident of January 1986. 

During that time, NASA has been laying 

the groundwork for a new beginning in com- 

mercial development of space by executing a 

series of actions designed to expand the in- 

frastructure and broaden the range of oppor- 

tunities for promising commercial ventures 

in space. 

Many such actions were responses to Presi- 

dent Reagan's 15-point commercial space 

initiative, part of a revised national space 

policy announced in February 1988. Reaf-

fuming the belief that expanded private sec- 

tor invesunent in space can generate signrfi- 

cant economic benefits for the U.S., the 

policy provides support and direction for a 

vigorous space commercial program. 

The policy stated these g d: 

Promoting a strong U.S. commercial 

presence in space 

Assuring a highway to space, and 

Building a solid technological and talent 

base. 

Among other NASA actions to implement 

the President's policy, NASA took initial 

steps toward complying with the speafica- 

tion that the agency, an an "anchor tenant," 

lease space in a commercially financed and 

operated orbital facility for materials process- 

ing research and other activities. NASA also 

invited private sector firms to submit pro- 

posals on how the normally jettisoned Space 

Shuttle External Tanks might be put to com- 

mercial use. Additionally, NASA i n a d 

its activity toward development of commer- 

cial applications of remote sensing. 

In the area of space privatization, NASA 

continued activities to encourage and facili- 

tate commercial operation of space launch 

vehicles. 

Among other initiatives, NASA continued 

to expand its network of Centers for the 

Commercial Development of Space (CCDS), 

not-for-profit joint research undertakings 

composed of industrial firms, academic insti- 

tutions and government organizations. From 

the original five CCDS activated in 1985, 

the network has grown to 16. 

In February 1988, NASA established a 

Commercial Programs Advisory Committee, 

to operate as a subcommittee of the NASA 

Advisory Council. The new group is charged 

with reviewing the NASA space commercial 

program and recommendmg changes that 

would enhance the overall effort. The group 

will also advise on speufic program elements, 

including research priorities; the research 

data base structure and accessibility for 

optimum industry use; research facilities and 

hardware that would most &ectively 

stimulate commercial space endeavors; and 

NASA/indusay arrangements that enhance 

policy objectives. 

NASA has also formed a Commercial Use 

of Space Task Team, composed of more than 

100 NASA and industry experts who will 

study and recommend new initiatives and 

changes in ongoing projects. 

One other major action involved initiation 

of a comprehensive long range strategic plan 

for commercial space development over the 

next quarter century; it will draw upon the 

combined expertise of NASA, industry, 

academic and other government agency 

organizations. 

Many of these initiatives are amplified on 

the following pages. A 

What looks like a batch of 

multicolored ribbon (left) is 

actually a research image, a 

computer generated represen- 

tation of the molecular structure 

of a protein. Marshall Space 

Flight Center is helping U.S. 

pharmaceutical companies 

conduct space-based protein 

crystal growth experiments. 

Such crystals, superior to those 

grown on Earth, could lead to 

development of powerful new 

drugs for treatment of disease. 

Shown above is a view of protein 

crystals being grown in a Shuttle- 

based facility. 

Commetrial Use of Space 43

Commercial Services 

I 

n line with the gavernment's 

policy to support 

&om by U.S. companies 

to develop commercial space 

launch capabilities competitive 

with those of foreign nations, 

NASA is helping the 

fledghg U.S. launch industry 

in two ways: by making 

available NASA-contro1led 

production and launch facilities, 

and by its role as a potential 

customer of commercial 

launch services. 

In 1987, NASA signed 

the first agreement transferring 

operation of a government-developed 

expendable 

launch vehicle (ELV) to the 

private sector. The agreement 

was with General Dynamics 

Corporation for operation 

of the Atlas-Centaur 

vehicle (right). NASA is negotiating 

additional agreements 

for use of payload 

processing and launch facilities 

with Martin Marietta 

Corporation, mandimurer of 

the commercial Titan launch 

vehicle; McDonnell Douglas 

Corporation, producer of the 

workhorse Delta; and LW 

Corporation, which builds 

the Scout vehicle. The latter 

agreement also covers LW's 

use of NASA-owned production 

tooling and special 

equipment. 

44 Comtner~iaI Use of Space 

NASA has also signed an 

agreement with Space Ser- 

vices Inc. for use of the 

agency's research rodcet 

launching site, Wallops 

Flight Facility in Virginia, 

for launches of the com- 

pany's Conestoga vehicle. 

In addition, NASA has 

adopted a mixed-fleet plan 

in which ELV launches will 

complement Space Shuttle 

operations. A study identi- 

fied a need for 30 ELV 

erated orbital research and 

manufacturing facilities. The 

agency is negotiating a Space 

Systems Development 

Agreement with Spacehab, 

Inc. that allows defmed 

payment for Space Shuttle 

flights of the company's 

Spacehab human-habitable 

laboratory. Intended for 

research and technology 

development that requires 

human-directed experimen- 

tation in orbit, Spacehab 

(below) is a cylindrical mod- 

ule with 1,000 square feet of 

pressurized volume; it fits 

into the Shuttle Orbiter's 

cargo bay and connects to 

the aew compartment. 

NASA is making arrange- 

ments to begin Spacehab 

flights aboard the Shuttle in 

the early 1990s. 

Another type of orbital fa- 

cility contemplated is a free- 

launches through 1984, to flying laboratory for use as a 

be accomplished by comer- materials processing and 

cia1 launch services. space manufacturing facility, 

NASA is also mking steps as a scientific laboratory, or 

to support commercially op- as a technology development

facility for testing new space 

equipment. The President's 

commercial space initiative 

announced government in- 

tent to spur commercial fi- 

nancing, construction and 

operation of such a facility 

by leasing space for NASA 

experiment packages. At 

publication time, NASA was 

awaiting Congressional au- 

thorization to proceed with 

the program. 

In May 1988, NASA 

began implementation of 

another orbital research 

stimulus suggested in the 

Presidential commercial 

space initiative when the 

agency asked indusay for ex- 

pressions of interest in mak- 

ing commercial use of the 

Space Shuttle's External 

Tank. The huge expendable 

tanks are normally jettisoned 

just before the Shuttle attains 

orbit, but they could be 

boosted into orbit for a 

number of possible uses. At 

right above is an artist's con- 

cept of a Shuttle-delivered 

tank in low Earth orbit. 

Through 1994, approxi- 

mately 40 tanks will be 

flown. The exact number 

that could be made available 

for commercial use will de- 

pend on a case-by-case anal- 

ysis of each Shuttle mission 

and the proposed use for 

that particular tank. Where 

commercial use can be ac- 

commodated, NASA is 

offering to make the tanks 

available without charge, but 

users must pay costs associ- 

ated with orbital insertion 

and eventual safe disposition 

of the tanks. Costs will in- 

dude payments to NASA for 

unique mission engineering, 

planning and safety reviews, 

special studies, pre-launch 

modifications to the tank 

and, if necessary, on orbit 

At right is the Geostar 

DS- 1 communications satel- 

lite. Under a Space Systems 

Development Agreement, 

NASA will Shuttle-launch 

three such satellites for 

Geostar Corporation, which 

will provide as a commercial 

service a capability for com- 

panies to track and commu- 

nicate their mobile fleets of 

trucks, ships, trains, or air- 

craft. Geostar will pay 

NASA for launch services on 

a deferred basis. The first of 

the Geostar satellites is 

scheduled for Shuttle deliv- 

ery in early 1992. A 

Cornmenial Use of Space 45

Space Industrial Research 

T 

he Earth orbital environment 

comprises a 

nearly petfect vacuum, 

a site of dtered solar radiation, 

a diverse "dimate" 

with temperatures ranging 

from 200 degrees below to 

200 degrees above zero 

Fahrenheit, and a place with 

an almost total absence of 

gravity. 

Reachable in little more 

than eight minutes by Space 

Shuttle, orbital space offers a 

unique laboratory environment 

for materials processing 

research. such research can 

lead to man- in space 

of products that cannot be 

produced effenively or in 

quantity in the presence of 

Earth's atmosphere and 

gravity. Among such prcducts 

are hlgh purity biological 

materials for more 

effdve health care, semiconductor 

materials with 

enormously improved 

electrical properties for great 

46 Commial UJ~ of Space 

advances in electronics; 

extremely pure glass for such 

applications as laser and 

optical systems; vastly supe- 

rior metallic alloys for a 

multitude of applications; 

and a variety of industrial 

process equipment and 

instrumentation. 

Alternatively, +en- 

tation in the airless, gravity- 

free environment may iden- 

ti@ and quanafy the effects 

of air and gravity in Earth- 

bound processing, and ' 

thereby lead to revolutionary 

improvements in Earth pro- 

cessing techniques. 

NASA's role is to conduct 

miaogravity research and 

technology development and 

make available to industry 

new discoveries that may 

have commercial applicabil- 

ity. NASA also seeks to 

encourage broadest private 

sector participation in co- 

operative orbital research. 

One of the agency's key tools 

is the Joint Endeavor Agree- 

ment (JEA), in which 

NASA sponsors Space Shut- 

tle flights of industrydevel- 

oped, industry-6nanced 

experiments to reduce the 

technical and financial risks 

of early research, develop- 

ment and demonstration of 

promising, commercially 

applicable technologies. 

Among the leading indus- 

trial participants is 3M, 

which contemplates more 

than 60 flight experiments 

over a 10-year span. 3M de- 

veloped one of the two ma- 

terials processing experiments 

for the "new beginn@" 

STS-26 flight of the Orbiter 

Discovery., at left, astronaut 

James Van Hoften is operat- 

ing a 3M experiment on a 

Space Shuttle flight. 

NASA has developed a 

broad range of equipment 

and fdties, much of it 

generated by Marshall Space 

Flight Center, to support 

miaogravity research. Exam- 

ples of Shuttle-based systems 

indude many types of fut- 

naces for growing crystals or 

for melting/solidifyhg met- 

als and alloys; apparatus for 

separating biological materi- 

als, levitators that enable 

processing of materials with- 

out use of containers that 

might conraminate the sam- 

ple; systems for observing 

fluid processes in micro- 

gravity; computers for con- 

trolling experiments; and 

cameras and other data ac- 

quisition systems for record- 

ing the results.

Similar equipment has 

been developed for aitcraf- 

based miaogravity research, 

which can be accomplished 

byflymgtheaimaftthtough 

preciseparabalu:cwesto 

aaain zero gravity for brief 

periods (20-60 Seconds). At 

left above, an engineer is 

checklngan~ent 

package aboard an Ames 

Research Center F-104 re- 

search plane; Johnson Space 

Center and Lewis Research 

Center also operate 

miaogravity research 

airaaft. 

Additionally, NASA oper- 

ates-at several centers---a 

number of ground-based 

drop tubes and drop towers 

in which miaogravity condi- 

tions can be simulated for 

short periods (up to 10 sec- 

onds). A special facilty-at 

Lewis Research (Xnter-is 

the Microgravity Materials 

Sdence Laboratory (MMSL), 

which is equipped with a 

variety of furnaces and an 

instrumented drop tube. 

The laboratory demonstrates 

Wonal duplicates of 

- ~ ~ s y s - 

flown on the Space Shuttle, 

allowing industrial, academic 

and government scientists to 

explore the potential of 

miaogravity experhentation 

before establishing their own 

formal research programs. 

Above, a Lewis scientist is 

conducting reseatch on a 

polymer sample at the 

MMSL. 

A relatively new and irn- 

portant program intended to 

stimulate interest and invest- 

ment in commercial space 

activities involves establish- 

ment of a network of 

NASA-spimsored Centers for 

Commerd Dwelopment of 

Space (CCDS), non-profit 

enterprises that combine the 

resources and reseatch talents 

of industry and universities. 

NASA established the 

fmt five centers in 1985 and 

the network has since grown 

to 16, each concentrating on 

aparticularateaofresearch 

activity with c ommd po- 

tential. From a few compa- 

nies initially involved, 

industry participation has 

expanded to 106 firms rang- 

ing from small businesses to 

giant "Fortune 500" 

companies. 

Five of the CCDS focus 

on materials processing re- 

search. The other technical 

disciplines, and the number 

of centers so engaged, are life 

sciences (3); automation and 

robotics (2); remote sensing 

(2); space power (2); space 

propulsion (1); and space 

sauctures/materials (1). A 

ConmKlrial Use of Space 47

Earth Observation 

R 

emote sensing of 

Earth's surface is a 

process in which satellite 

or airbome sensors detect 

various types of radiation 

emitted by or reflected 

from objects on Earth. Computer 

processed at ground 

facilities, this data can be 

interpreted to differentiate 

among a broad variety of 

surface features and 

conditions. 

This information can be 

put to practical use in such 

applications as agricultural 

crop forecasting, rangeland 

and forest management, 

mineral and petroleum exploration, 

mapping, dassifying 

land use, delineating 

urban growth patterns, 

studying floods to lessen 

their devastation, and plotting 

changes in ecology resulting 

from forest fires, 

earthquakes or strip mining 

activities, to mention just a 

few of the applications for 

remote sensing of land areas. 

A representative computer 

processed image is shown at 

right center. The scene is the 

Gulf of Mexico near Corpus 

Christi, Texas; to skilled 

analysts, the color codes 

reveal a wealth of information 

about land cover, vegetation, 

swamp areas and 

sedimentation. 

In addition, remote sensing 

of oceans offers another 

range of beneficial applications, 

for example, warning 

of threatening coastal disasters, 

storm and iceberg 

48 Cmnnre~ial Use of Space 

avoidance, guiding fishing 

fleets to most productive 

waters, monitoring oil spills, 

and producing general information 

that can help improve 

ship design and ship 

routing techniques. 

NASA developed the 

Landsat series of Earth resources 

survey satellites, first 

launched in 1972, demonstrated 

in government operation 

for more than a decade 

and now operated as a commercial 

system; below is a 

late model Landsat getting a 

f d pre-launch check. Commercial 

remote sensing has 

great growth potential, but 

as yet only a few applications 

are being pursued on a consistent 

basis. NASA seeks to 

expand the list of applications 

by developing new 

technologies and demonstrating 

new uses of space-based 

and airborne remote sensing. 

NASA projects for commercial 

development of remote 

sensing are managed 

by the Earth Resources Laboratory 

(ERL) at Stennis 

Space Center, Mississippi. 

ERL is conducting research 

and technology development, 

exploring ways to use exist-

ing remote sensing technol- 

ogy in new commercial 

products and services, and 

helping users develop their 

own technology; industrial 

investigators have access to 

airborne sensor data acquired 

by the specially-fitted ERL 

Learjet shown. An example 

is ERL's work with Union 

Oil of Wornia (Unocal), 

which has proposed a cor- 

porative arrangement to de- 

velop and test-initially on 

the Space Shuttle and later 

aboard the Space Station- 

new technology for Earth- 

orbiting sensors designed to 

seek out energy resources. 

In April 1988, NASA an- 

nounced selection of nine 

commercial applications 

projects, to be managed by 

ERL, aimed at broader use 

of NASAdeveloped technol- 

ogy in land and ocean 

observations for practical 

benefit. To be conducted by 

teams of industry firms, uni- 

versities and other research 

organizations, the projects in- 

volve, for example, commer- 

cial development of an ice 

data and forecasting system; 

development of methods for 

using satellite data in forest 

resources management; 

application of airborne ocean 

color imaging technology to 

commercial fishing; and use 

of satellite data for potato 

production estimates. 

At the same time, NASA 

announced 1 1 other projects, 

to be managed by the Office 

of Space Science and Appli- 

cations, involving remote 

sensing technology develop- 

ment for public sector appli- 

cations. Some examples: 

remote sensing as a tool for 

landslide hazard assessment; 

analysis of sediment trans- 

port and land loss processes; 

and investigation of an 

automated satellite-based fire 

detection and monitoring 

system. 

In addition to Stennis 

Space Center activity, NASA 

also sponsors two Centers for 

Commercial Development of 

Space (CCDS) that specialize 

in remote sensing. The Insti- 

tute of Technology Develop- 

ment CCDS, Hancock, Mis- 

sissippi conducts research in 

sensor technology, data inter- 

pretation techniques and 

data handling capabilities. 

The Ohio State University 

CCDS, Columbus, Ohio is 

developing satellite mapping 

technology. A 

Conrmetria[ Use of Space 49

Technology Twice Used 

Spinoff developments highlighted in this section are based on 

information provided by secondary users of aerospace technol- 

ogy, individuals and manufacturers who have acknowledged 

that aerospace technology contributed wholly or in part to devel- 

opment of the product or process described. Publication herein 

does not constitute NASA endorsement of the product or pro- 

cess, nor confirmation of manufacturers' performance claims 

related to particular spinof developments 

A representative selection of new products 

and processes adapted from technology 

originally developed for NASA mainline 

programs, underlining the broad diversity 

of spinoff applications, and the social and 

economic benefits they provide

- 

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.:%,,, &d:-~ . ., - /!~;); :>$l;{4:;;;+it;?: . , tq$.t: ., ,.% > .AS?, ++: %$..5~%* ,= 

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Space Software for Automotive Design 

The spinoff-spurred growth 

of a chassis manufacturina 

company exemplifies the 

benefit potential of 

aerospace technology 

transfer 

John Thousand, a consulting 

engineer serving the automotive 

industry (right), took on six un- 

employed aeronautical engineers 

who expanded and transformed 

his business by applying aero- 

space techniques and software to 

automotive design. Thousand's 

consulting firm is now a busy de- 

sign and manufacturing operation 

producing automotive chassis and 

components. 

" 

I 

n 1971, sharp reductions in the federal 

defense and space budgets aeated what 

was known as the "aerospace recession" 

that put thousands of aerospace engineers out 

of work. Traditionally the state with the 

largest aerospace employment, California was 

particularly hard hit. To ease the impact, the 

state government established a retraining 

program to prepare aerospace engineers for 

jobs in other industries. 

That's how John Thousand wound up 

with six young aeronautical engineers who 

had previously worked for a California plant 

of the aerospace giant, Md>omefl Douglas 

Corporation. Thousand was president of 

Wolverine Western Corporation, Newport 

Beach, California, a company providing engineering 

consulting services to the automotive 

industry. He didn't know it at the time, but 

his acquisition of the aerospace group was to 

start a chain of events that would transform 

his company into a bustling design and 

manufacturing operation speciahhg in chas- 

sis for buses, trams, trucks, recreational vehi- 

cles and special purpose military vehicles. 

And aerospace spinoff would be the trigger. 

Thousand put his aerospace group to 

work on an unfamiliar job-designing a bet- 

ter brake drum-using computer design 

techniques with which they were entirely fa- 

miliar. Used in the aerospace industry since 

the earliest days of the computer era, com- 

puter design involves creation of a math- 

ematical model of a product and analyzing 

its effectiveness in simulated operation. The 

technique enables study of the performance 

and structural behavior of a number of 

different designs before settling on a final 

configuration. 

The new Wolverine employees attacked a 

traditional brake drum problem-the sud- 

den buildup of heat during fast and repeated 

brakings. The part of the brake drum that is 

not confined tends to change its shape under 

the combination of heat, physical pressure 

and rotational forces--a condition known as 

"bellmouthing." Since bellmouthing is a 

major factor in braking effectiveness, a 

solution to the problem would be a major 

advance in automotive engineering. 

One of the group was Richard Hagen 

who, at McDomefl Douglas, had worked on 

NASA projects. He knew of a series of 

NASA computer programs that seemed 

ideally suited to the task of confronting 

bellmouthing. Originally developed as aids 

to rocket engine nozzle design, they were ca- 

pable of analyzing the problems generated- 

in a rocket engine or an automotive brake 

drum-by heat, expansion pressure and 

rotational forces. 

Use of these computer programs led to a 

new brake drum concept featuring a more 

durable axle and heat transfer ribs, or fins, 

on the hub of the drum. The ribs reinforce 

the shape of the drum and help prevent bell- 

mouthing. Additionally, they act as cooling

fins, allowing the brake to remain cooler dur- 

ing repeated braking on grades and thereby 

reducing brake fade or failure. 

Hagen and his coworkers went a step 

kher and applied computerized structural 

analysis to vehicle frames, using a computer 

program NASA had originally developed for 

early studies of an orbiting space station. 

John Thousand approved the brake drum 

design and ordered patterns, prototypes and 

eventually castings. Sample drums were sent 

to Bendix Engineering Laboratories for test, 

and under intense dynamometer testing they 

never failed. Thousand's Wolverine Western 

Corporation was in the brake drum business. 

In time, Wolverine's aerospace engineers 

moved on to other pursuits, but the innova- 

tions they left behind dramatidy changed 

the company, In the years since, John Thou- 

sand has done less and less consulting and 

more and more manufacturing of the brake 

drum, axles and vehicle frames designed by 

his reuained aerospace engineers. Wolverine 

Western incorporates these parts in complete 

high quality chassis for a variety of automo- 

tive applications: for military command, con- 

trol and communications centers; for intelli- 

gence vehicles; and for multipurpose vehicles 

that can be airlifted on military transports. In 

the civil sector, Wolverine chassis are used 

in buses, recreational vehicles and delivery 

trucks; they are also sold as turnkey medical 

dugnostic facilities, providing, for example, 

mobile eye examination or mammography 

(breast x-ray) services. 

(Contintred) 

Above, the principal product of 

Thousand's Wolverine Western 

Corporation: an advanced brake 

drum featuring a ribbed hub, a 

spinoff from rocket engine nozzle 

design technology. The ribs rein- 

force and cool the drum, helping 

to prevent a shape distortion 

known as "bellmouthing" that 

adversely affects braking effi- 

ciency. At left, a mechanic adjusts 

the brake shoes.

Space Software for Automotive Design (Continaed) 

Above, a design conference at 

Wolverine Western. The aero- 

space engineers who revolution- 

ized the company are no longer 

around, but the spinoff computer 

programs they introduced are still 

in use. They analyze the effects of 

various loads on each vehicle 

frame produced, since virtually 

every Wolverine vehicle is cus- 

tomized. 

A Wolverine brake drum view from a different angle. 

The company's chassis employ the spinoff drum 

brakes on rear axles, disc brakes on the front. 

"When you think about it," says Wolverine 

Western Corporation's John Thousand, 

"a rocket nozzle has the same job to perform 

as a brake drum. They must both resist internal 

pressure forces and be efficient distributors 

of heat." 

Many other high technology systems similarly 

share characteristics, in a general way, 

with non-aerospace products or processes in 

everyday civil use. That's why it is possible 

to reuse computer programs developed by 

NASA and other technology generating 

agencies of the government. Sometimes, as 

was the case with Wolverine western, they 

can be applied to a secondary use with little 

or no change; in other instances, the program 

may have to be modified for a new use but 

that can most likely be done at far less than 

the cost of developing a new program. 

Since thousands of companies each year 

are joining the ranks of computer users, 

NASA serves the interests of national productivity 

by offering these newcomers to 

computerization a way to &ect sign&cant 

redukon of their automation costs through 

purchase of already developed computer 

programs that have secondary utility 

This service is provided by NASA's Computer 

Software Management and Information 

Center (COSMIC)@. Located at the University 

of Georgia, COSMIC gets a continual 

flow of government developed software, 

identifies those programs that can be 

adapted to secondary usage, and stores some 

1,400 of them. A COSMIC customer can 

purchase a program at a fraction of its origi- 

nal cost and get a return many times the in- 

vestment, even when the cost of adapting the 

program to a new use is considered. This ser- 

vice has become one of the principal areas of 

technology transfer, as is evidenced by the 

fact that COSMIC sells about 700 software 

packages a year (see page 140). 

Although it involves software rather than 

hardware, the Wolverine Western story is an

excellent example of the aerospace spinoff 

process. It illustrates two separate spinoff 

routes: one, the beneficial reuse of technology 

developed for the space program, and two, 

the personnel type of technology transfer, 

wherein aerospace workers move to other in- 

dustries, bringing with them aerospace tech- 

nology and skills that can be reapplied in 

their new occupations. 

The Wolverine Western experience repre- 

sents a high value spinoff due to aeation of 

an entirely new product line. Spisoff? 

whether hardware or sofmare-with values 

in millions are not unusual, nor is the estab- 

lishment of whole new companies based on 

technology transfers. In other cases, spinoffs 

generate only moderate economic gain but 

provide significant public benefit in other 

ways, ranging from simple conveniences to 

important developments in medical and 

industrial technology, 

This year NASA marks the 25th anniver- 

sary of its Technology Utilization Program, 

which seeks to encourage the secondary 

application of aerospace technology for bene- 

fit to the national economy in the form of 

new products, new processes, new jobs and 

substantial contributions to the Gross Na- 

tional Product. During the quarter century of 

the program's existence, more than 30,000 

aerospace-originated innovations have found 

their way into everyday use. Collectively, 

these spinoffs represent a significant return 

on the national investment in aerospace re- 

search and development, in terms of eco- 

nomic gain, industrial efficiency and pro- 

ductivity, lifestyle enhancement and solutions 

to problems of public concern. A 

@ COSMIC is a registered trademark of the National Aero- 

nautics and Space Administration. 

A vehicle frame under construction at Wolverine 

Western (left). The company's frame technology 

also originated in NASA software, initially developed 

to analyze space station configurations. 

I 

At top is a completed Wolverine Western vehicle 

with its distinctive lowered chassis. Above, a military 

vehicle is being loaded aboard an Air Force C-130 

transport; all Wolverine vehicles built for rnilitary use 

are designed for air transportability.

Moon Technology for Skin Care 

igital image processing is the art of 

using computers to convert sensor 

I' data into informative images-for ex- 

ample, the exciting pictures of distant planets 

~r~l1-1 1 IF ii" I sent to Earth by imaging spacecraft. 

NASA centers have led the way in devel- 

t~s2d,~18 , I opingthistechnologyandtheirworkhasinspired 

a number of spinoff applications, most 

S~I,,P :dl_," , L- ,I ::1- notably in medicine and industrial quality 

field of health and medicine 

6 

I Estee Lauder researcher Paul 

Vallon uses a d~gltal Image 

analyzer and software based on 

NASA lunar research ~n evaluation 

of cosrnetlc products for skln 

care Olg~tal Image processing 

brlngs out subtleties otherw~se 

' undetectable and allows better 

I deterrn~natron of a product's 

effectiveness 

S6 Health and Medicine 

control. Digital image processing promises a 

much broader impact on everyday life because 

it is showing utility in a wide variety 

of new applications, some of them still experimental, 

others demonstrably practicable 

but not yet in widespread use. 

An example in the latter category is the 

application of the technology to research, 

evaluation and demonsaation of skin care 

products. Cosmetic and pharmaceutical firms 

like Est& Lauder, Ortho Phamaautical and 

Hoffman-LaRoche, and independent re- 

mrch/testing laboratories working for such 

fnms, are using image ptocessing sofbvare 

orwy developed to provide accurate 

topographic maps of the lunar surface. 

In the early days of the Apollo program, 

NASA employed telescopic photography 

fiom unmanned lunar orbiting satellites to 

get information on possible landing sites for 

manned missions. The photos, however, were 

subject to a variety of distortions caused by 

camera problems or noise contamination 

fiom the spacedi's electronic equipment. 

Further, the moon's shadow pattern, Uer- 

ent from Earth's due to the lack of light fil- 

tering atmosphere, made it difKcult to deter- 

mine certain details essential to topographic 

mapping, for example, the height of a large 

boulder or the depth of a crater. 

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory UPL) 

came up with an innovative solution: con- 

verting the analog imaging signals from the 

spacecraft to digital signals. That would 

make it possible to computer-enhance the 

images by programming the computer to 

adjust the imagery as directed. JPL began 

developing the software necessary to allow 

such adjustments as correction of sensor er- 

rors, changes in contrast, emphasis on certain 

features, in general manipulation of the satel- 

lite imagery to improve and ampG the 

information that could be extracted. 

Included in the JPL software was a tech- 

nique called "photodinomeuy" to resolve the 

problems of depth perception occasioned by 

the unusual shadows of the airless lunar 

environment. This technique considered such 

factors as the location of the Sun and the 

reflective properties of the lunar surface in a 

process of "decoding" the shadow pattern to 

produce accurate elevation data for making 

topographic maps from satellite photos. That 

is the basis for the software used in skin care 

research because, odd as it may sound, the 

moon's topography and human skin have a 

lot in common. 

"Close inspection of the human skin sur- 

face at any region of the body will reveal that 

it is not featureless but rather is characterized 

by geometric patterns and other topographi- 

cal features," said Dr. Gary Lee Grove and 

his wife Mary Jo Grove in a technical paper. 

They pointed out that skin has folds and

furrows and hills and valleys that can be approximately 

measured by such visual means 

as photo magnification, but can be more 

accurately measured by computerized image 

processing. 

Dr. Grove is director of the Skin Study 

Center, a unit of K.G.L. Inc., Broomall, 

Pennsylvania. Mary Jo Grove is an image 

processing specdst at the center, whose researchers 

perform contract work for cosmetic 

fums, pharmaceutical companies and government 

regulatory agencies to evaluate the 

safety and efKcacy of cosmetics and topically 

applied drugs. The Groves developed a computer 

program, based on the original JPL 

software, for non-invasive assessment of skin 

surface topography in evaluating the performance 

of such skin care products as moisturizers 

and antiwrinkle aeams. They use it in 

conjunction with a Joyce-Loebel Magiscan 

Image Processing System. 

Est& Lauder Inc., Melville, New York 

uses similar software with a Zeiss 2001 Image 

Analyzer to determine the dects of cosmetic 

products and ingredients on the skin. 

"The system," says a company spokesperson, 

"stores, enhances and displays images to 

make subtleties otherwise undetectable by 

the human eye or camera apparent to the 

scientist." 

The technique allows Estee Lauder to 

quantrfj. the changes in skin surface form 

and structure caused by application of cos- 

metic preparations. The structure of the 

epidermis, its roughness, dryness, wrinkles, 

cracks and other features can be translated 

into numerical descriptions that allow exact 

and unambiguous assessment. 

Formerly, skin examinations and compari- 

sons were done by panels of experts making 

judgments based on their own experience; 

that method has disadvantages in time, cost 

and subjective interpretation. "The use of the 

digital analyzer technique," says the kt& 

Lauder spokesperson, "allows us to perform 

these examinations at lower cost, with more 

flexibility, much more frequently and with 

greater assurance of reproductibility of re- 

sults. It aids us in developing, screening and 

marketing new products that might other- 

wise not be made available, because the 

benefits of the product are not readily 

apparent to visual inspection or touch." 

This is a before-and-after wm- 

posite illustrating the effects on 

skin surface of an Est6e Lauder 

preparation for smoothing rough 

skin, The upper images are mag- 

nified photos of the skin surface 

before (left) and after (right) 

treatment. The lower images are 

enhanced digital representations 

of the same area. The digital im- 

agery reveals skin "peaks" not 

otherwise visible (lower left) and 

shows the degree to which the 

peaks have been smoothed by 

treatment (lower right). 

Healrb and Medicine 5 7

Moon Technology For Skin Care (Cmtinrccd) 

Above, a client at the Skin Study 

Center is having a silicon rubber 

impression made of the 

"crowsfeet" wrinkles around her 

eye for assessment by digital im- 

age processing. At right above, 

the impression is being photo- 

graphed by a video camera. 

58 Health and Medicine 

A great many otherwise healthy adults ex- 

hibit signs of "photoaging," changes in the 

skin-particularly the face-that result from 

aging or excessive exposure to the Sun. These 

changes produce the stigmata of a yellowish, 

mottled, wrinkled, leathery, rough skin often 

studded with small growth. 

Until recently, the only routes to a more 

youthful appearance were cosmetic surgery to 

remove the flaws or makeup to conceal 

them. Now, however, pharmaceutical and 

cosmetic houses are offering retinoid prepara- 

tions for smoother skin. Such drugs naturally 

have excited wide public attention and are 

getting intense scientific scrutiny to see if 

they really have antiaging properties. 

One such product is Ortho Pharmaceuti- 

cals' Retin-A, which has undergone extensive 

assessment by Dr. Gary Lee Grove and the 

Skin Study Center, an independent testing 

laboratory in the Philadelphia area. This 

group has developed a number of pioneering 

non-intrusive testing procedures, some of 

them based on NASA technology, that have 

been useful in experimental studies employ- 

ing human volunteers. 

In the Retin-A studies, the Skin Study 

Center used a spinoff technique, developed 

by Gary and Mary Jo Grove from Jet Pro- 

pulsion Laboratory's moon-imaging technol- 

ogy, called "optical profilometry." This tech- 

nique employs a fiber optic illuminator to 

sidelight silicon rubber replicas of skin sur- 

face specimens, generating an image of as- 

sorted shadows and highlights. By computer- 

ized image manipulation, the picture of the 

specimen can be enhanced and analyzed to 

extract quantitative information regarding 

the degree of roughness or wrinkling. By 

comparing processed numerical representa- 

tions over time, it is possible to determine 

the degree of effectiveness of drug treatment.

Replicas taken at various times during 

Retin-A therapy were matched with replicas 

from a placebo group of similar age. Al- 

though the Skin Study Center does not en- 

dorse specific products, it reported that it 

was able to d&ument that Retin-A treat- 

ments "do lead to a more youthful appear- 

ance with less wrinkled and smoother skin, 

especially in the aowsfeet area." 

Dr. Grove is developing new image analy- 

sis techniques based on remote sensing pro- 

cedures for acquiring data from the NASA- 

developed Landsat Earth resources swey 

satellites. These new techniques, along with 

the earlier developed optical profilomeay, 

will be employed in research and testing 

of advanced retinoids, in development by 

pharmaceutical companies, that are expected 

to be even more effective in countering 

photoaging changes. A 

Before and after comparisons 

during treatment with antiaging 

drugs allow assessment of the 

preparation's effectiveness. 

Above, a "before" view showing 

many peaks and valleys; above 

right, an "after" representation in 

which there are significantly fewer 

peaks and depressions, attesting 

to the preparation's skin-smooth- 

ing capability. 

At far left, image processing spe- 

cialist Mary Jo Grove is examin- 

ing the crowsfeet impression with 

the help of a Magiscan digital 

image analyzer. She rotates the 

specimen through four different 

angles and takes measurements 

at each angle. At near left, the 

upper image is the camera's view 

of the specimen; below it is a 

computer-processed cross- 

section representation of the 

peaks and valleys of the skin 

wrinkles. 

Health and Medicine 59

Balance System 

A 

new system available 

to the medical profession 

is the TherEx 

AT-1 Computerized Ataxiameter 

for precise evaluation 

of posture and balance disturbances 

that commonly accompany 

neurological and 

mdoskeletal disorders. 

Manufactured by TherEx, 

Inc., Woodside, California, 

it is a commercial spinoff 

from a system developed for 

Arnes Research (=enter studies 

of changes in posture and 

balance that occur &er exposure 

to weightlessness, a 

potential problem of long 

duration space flight. According 

to TherEx president 

Dr. John M. Medeiros, the 

AT-1 has wide applicability 

in idendying and treating 

balance disturbances associated 

with such conditions as 

sport, orthopaedic and neurological 

injury, or agerelated 

declines in postural 

stability. 

The AT-1 makes visible 

otherwise imperceptible actions 

of the body, enabling a 

clinician to establish precisely 

the patient's level of stability, 

then plan a treatment 

program. The system serves 

as an assessment tool, a 


treatment monitor and a re- 

habilitation training device. 

It allows the clinician to doc- 

ument quantitatively the 

outcome of treatment and to 

analyze data over time to de- 

velop outcome standards for 

several classifications of pa- 

tients. The AT- l can be 

used to evaluate speufically 

the effects of surgery, drug 

treatment, physical therapy 

or prosthetic devices. 

The complete system, 

shown above, indudes two 

strain-gauged footplates, sig- 

nal conditioning circuitry a 

computer, monitor, printer, 

and a stand-alone tiltable 

balance platform. The system 

is available in stationary and 

portable versions. The foot- 

plates are shown in doseup 

at right above. They are four 

independent vertical force- 

measuring transducers for 

measuring the pressure on 

the ball and heel of each 

foot. The footplates were 

separately developed by 

Keith H. MacFarland, presi- 

dent of Straindyne Engineer- 

ing Company, Los Altos, 

California, based on his own 

technological expertise and 

an earlier development by 

the Hebrew University in 

Israel. 

The footplates can be 

moved to adapt to various 

posture forms, such as stand- 

ing with feet together, with 

feet in tandem, standing at 

ease or standing on a tilting 

platform. The footplates 

measure weight displace- 

ments that reflect the 

amount and direction the 

patient sways in forward- 

backward or left-right move- 

ments. A typical test se- 

quence involves standing on 

a stable base, first with eyes 

open, then dosed, followed 

by standing on the tilting 

platform with eyes open, 

then dosed. 

AT-1 results are displayed 

on the monitor in a simple 

graphics format. Movement 

of the instantaneous center of 

pressure over the 25-second 

data collection period is plot- 

ted with respect to each of 

the four footplate quadrants. 

The degree of postural insta- 

bility is displayed as a single 

number that expresses the 

sway pattern, allowing easy 

comparison of different tests. 

The monitor also shows the 

center of pressure in terms of 

percent of body weight, 

which enables comparisons 

among different patients 

with different weights. 

TherEx has licensed the tech- 

nology to Chattea Corpora- 

tion, Chattanooga, Tennessee 

for world-wide sales and 

marketing. A

Temperature Pill 

P 

rototypes of an ingestible 

thermometer ca- 

I pable of measuring 

and relaying internal body 

temperatures are undergoing 

clinical testing at Maine 

(Portland) Medical Center 

and animal testing at the 

Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, 

Baltimore, Maryland. 

Commercial units are 

expected to be available this 

Year. 

The thermometer was 

developed by The Johns 

Hopkins Applied Physics 

Laboratory (APL), Laurel, 

Maryland, under the direction 

of Dr. Russ Eberhart, in 

collaboration with NASA's 


as a technology utilization 

project. Human Technologies, 

Inc. (HTI), St. Petersburg, 

Florida will manufacture 

and market the 

capsule-like system under a 

licensing agreement with 

APL. 

Formally known as the Ingestible 

Thermal Monitoring 

System (ITMS), the thermometer 

incorporates several 

aerospace technologies, such 

as integrated circuit miniaturization, 

sensor and 

microbattery developments, 

and telemetry, technologies 

originally developed for 

transmission of coded data 

signals to Earth from 

orbiting spacecdi. 

The ITMS was developed 

as a means of getting inter- 

nal temperature readings for 

treatment of such emergency 

conditions as dangerously 

low (hypotherrnia) and dan- 

gerously high (hyperthermia) 

body temperatures. Extreme 

accuracy of temperature 

r&gs is important in 

treating such cases. Where 

the average thermometer is 

accurate to one-tenth of a 

degree Centigrade, ITMS is 

off no more than one hun- 

dredth of a degree, and it 

provides the only means of 

obtaining deep body tem- 

perature. 

The system has additional 

applicability in fertility mon- 

itoring, incubator monitor- 

ing, and some aspects of sur- 

gery, aitical care, obstetrics, 

metabolic disease treatment, 

gerontology (aging) and food 

processing research. 

The three-quarter-inch sil- 

icone capsule, which contains 

a telemetry system, rniao- 

battery and a quartz crystal 

temperature sensor, is in- 

serted vaginally or rectally, or 

swallowed by the patient to 

make its way through the 

digestive tract. The sensor 

"reads" the internal tem- 

perature and telemeters its 

information to a receiving 

coil outside the body, then 

on to the computer. ITMS 

monitors continuously for 

the one-to-three days it takes 

the capsule to pass through 

the body. 

APL is working on an ad- 

vanced, four-channel capsule 

system that will simulta- 

neously monitor tempera- 

ture, heart rate, inner body 

pressure and acidity. A 


Self-injury Inhibitor i 

I 

I I 

I1 

T 

here are approximately 

50,000 autistic and retarded 

people in the 

United States alone and a 

good number of them engage 

in self-injurious behav- 

I ior, principally compulsive 

I' headtmging. ~ e hope w for 

these people is offered by an 

automated unit called the 

Self-Injurious Behavior Inhibiting 

System (SIBIS). It 

is based on the space technology 

of telemetry, the 

wireless relay of coded symbols 

used for accurate 

communication between 

Earth and orbit. 

SIBIS was developed in a 

collaborative effort by The 

American Foundation for 

Autistic Children, The Johns 

Hopkins University Applied 

Physics Laboratory (APL) 

and Human Technologies, 

Inc., St. Petersburg, Florida. 

The system performed extremely 

well in clinical trials 

conducted in 1987-88 and 

it is now commercially 

i available by presaiption. 

The accompanying photo 

shows the components of 

1 

62 Healtb and Medicine 

SIBIS. The stimulus module 

at left is worn on the upper 

arm or leg. The headgear in- 

dudes an impact detector 

(top) and a transmitter (at 

back of head). When there 

is a blow to the head, it is 

sensed by the impact detec- 

tor, which generates a coded 

signal that is automatically 

transferred to the stimulus 

module. The latter unit im- 

mediately delivers a mild 

electrical stimulus to the skin 

for less than one-tenth of a 

second. The stimulus is suf- 

ficient to halt the 

headbanging. A miaocom- 

puter keeps track of the 

number of impacts and 

stimulations, allowing mea- 

surement of a user's progress. 

Because self-injurious 

behavior is potentially life 

threatening, it is often neces- 

sary to use physical restraints 

or protective equipment 

(such as a helmet) on these 

individuals. SIBIS allows the 

self-injurious to live without 

such restraints. 

A predecessor device was 

invented by Mooza V.I! 

Grant, president of The 

American Foundation for 

Autistic children and co- 

founder-with husband Les- 

lie-of that organization. 

The Grants have two autistic 

daughters, one of whom is 

self-injurious. In 1970, after 

years of experimentation, 

Mrs. Grant developed a 

hard-wired device that used 

an accelerometer to detect 

headbanging and trigger a 

mild stimulus. The device 

immediately terminated her 

daughter's headbanging and 

has continued to do so ever 

since. 

Later, on NASA recom- 

mendation, Mrs. Grant 

asked APL to develop a 

more compact, state of the 

art device. Under the direc- 

tion of Robert E. Fischell, 

APL employed the miniatur- 

ization techniques for which 

it is widely known and de- 

signed the telemetry-based 

SIBIS. Development of 

SIBIS was funded by APL 

and Human Technologies, 

Inc., with assistance from the 

Public Welfare Foundation, 

C. R. Bard Company and 

the Oxford Instrument 

Company. A

Laboratory Tool 

elow, Dr. Timothy 

Morck and an assis- 

mnt, researchers at the. 

Veterans Administration 

(VA) Medical Center, 

Hampton, Virginia, are us- 

ing a "cake box" apparatus 

developed for the VA by 

Langley Research Center. 

VA medical researchers 

are investigating the possibil- 

ity that the peritoneal mem- 

brane (the lining of the ab- 

dominal cavity) can absorb 

nutrients and ;bus provide 

an alternative route for nuui- 

tion when intestinal function 

is impaired. To test the 

permeability of membrane 

samples, they had built a 

smaU dialysis chamber, but 

it proved complicated and 

difKcult to use. Since the 

Medical Center lacked the 

technical expertise to con- 

struct a larger, improved ver- 

sion of the chamber, hospital 

officials sought Langley's 

help. 

Langley undertook the 

task as a technology utiliza- 

tion project and engineering 

technician Bruce Little of the 

Fabrication Division was as- 

signed the job. After he met 

with members of the VA 

staff and discussed the re- 

quirement, Little conceived 

the cake box design shown 

above. The apparatus con- 

sists of an octagonal chamber 

with eight smaller chambers 

attached and secured by 

O-ring seals. The design is 

simple, interchangeable and 

time controllable; it doubles 

the research capability of the 

earlier VA design. A 


Thermal Video Systems 


H M Video System, manufacnwd 

by Hughes Air& 

Company, a subsidmy of 

possible accume measurement 

of nerve dysfimction; 

sensory nerve impairment in 

thelowerbackcanbeeviden& 

by a temperature dif- 

GM Hughes Electronics fezence, from one extremity 

Company, CarlsCarlsbgd, WOT- to the other, of only one denia. 

It consists of a mpod gree Centigrade. At right, a 

mounted infrared scanner patient is undergoing a nerve 

that detects the degree of function test, assuming a 

heat emitted by an object 

and a TV monitor on which 

stance so the thermal imaging 

scanner can sense heat 

the results are displayed. The Merences. 

latest addition to Hughes' Thermography is proving 

line of infrared imaging systems 

intended for medical 

to be a valuable screening 

tool in dlagn&, thermal 

applications, it can detect imaging can provide intemperature 

variations as formation to preclude the 

frne as one-tenth of a degree necessity of performing more 

Cen*. 

hi thermographic image 

invasive tests that might be 

paulful or haadous. Ther- 

(left) exemplifies its udlity as malimaghgisasousefulin 

a medical system. This im- venfymg a patient's progress 

age tells an analyst that the through therapy and re 

first two fingers of the right habilitation, and it is finding 

hand emit less heat at the sped utility in sports mediskin 

s k , thereby indicat- cine as a noninvasive means 

ing subnormal blood circula- of determining the extent of 

tion. 

injuries. 

Medical thermography is Hughes Aitctaft pioneered 

rapidly gaining acceptance in development of heat sensing 

health care as a noninvasive devices for military applicameans 

of observii physio- tions, such as missile guidlogical 

problems. Where the 

x-ray, for example, provides 

ance, under Department of 

Defense funding. NASA 

indications of StnlCNa sponsored a demonstration 

anomalies, thermography can project designed to explore 

point out functional anoma- the civil potential of thermal 

lies. For instance, a thermograph 

showing an asymmetrical 

ternperamre pattern in 

the body surface serves as a 

visual indicator that pain exists. 

Mapping of dermatones 

(ateas of skin supplied by a 

speafic spinal nerve) makes 

imagimg under the Technol-

ogy uwon Program. 

Hughes initially focused 

on industrial applications of 

its Probeye Thermal Video 

Systems. More recently, com- 

pany researchers were able to 

make the infrared detectors 

sensitive enough for medical 

thermography. Hughes now 

manufactures a wide range 

of Probeye systems and ac- 

cessories, principally for such 

industrial uses as inspeaion 

of electronic components, fire 

fighting, heat profiling for 

nondestructive quality test- 

ing, preventive maintenance, 

and routine monitoring of 

production processes and 

energy losses. 

Shown above is one of the 

newer industrial systems, the 

portable Probeye Model 

7100, which includes an in- 

frared imager with an inte- 

grated viewfinder and an 

associated image processing 

unit carried on a shoulder 

snap. A 

"Probeye is a registered trademark of 

Hughes Aircraft Company. 


Insulin Delivery System 

t right, Robert E. 

Fischell of The Johns 

, Hopkins University 

A. .~i:- J nL-.-:-- T -L 

nppuea rnyss Lawriirory 

(APL) is seen holding a Programmable 

Implantable 

Medication System (PIMS) 

which, when implanted in 

the human body, delivers 

precise preprogrammed 

amounts of insulin over long 

periods of time. Fischell, a 

staff physicist and chief of 

technology transfer of APL's 

Space Department, headed 

the initial development of 

PIMS as a technology utilization 

project sponsored by 

Goddard Space Flight Center. 

MiniMed Technologies 

of Sylmar, California, licensee 

of the technology, has 

been refining the design of 

PIMS since the initial development 

at APL. The photo 

at right shows a doseup of 

the PIMS implantable pump 

and catheter. 

PIMS is currently rounding 

out its second year of 

clinical trials as a humanimplanted 

system, following 

five years of predinical testing 

under the direction of 

Dr. Christopher D. Saudek, 

director of The Johns Hopkins 

Diabetes Center. PIMS 

is also undergoing trials at a 

second implant center, the 

University of California, 


Irvine. It is estimated that 

one million insulin-depen- 

dent diabetics in the United 

States will benefit from 

implantable infusion systems 

because they will not have to 

inject themselves daily with 

the pancreatic hormone. 

Almost a decade in 

development, PIMS is an 

outstanding example of how 

space technology offers spe- 

cial utility in medical sys- 

tems. PIMS employs several 

technologies derived from 

R&D work on NASA and 

military space systems, in- 

cluding a tiny, micromin- 

iaturized fluid control system 

initially used in life search 

experiments aboard two 

NASA Viking spacecraft 

that landed on Mars. 

The Johns Hopkins Med- 

ical Institutions (JHMI) also 

collaborated with NASA and 

APL in the PIMS program. 

JHMI has teamed with APL 

since 1965 in a continuing 

effort to apply APL technol- 

ogy acquired in defense and 

space programs to the solu- 

tion of biomedical problems. 

Corporate participants in 

addition to Minimed Tech- 

nologies indude Wilson 

Greatbatch Company, Buf- 

falo, New York, makers of 

the lithium battery; Hoecht- 

Roussel Pharmaceuticals, 

Somerville, New Jersey, 

which developed a special, 

highly concentrated type of 

insulin for PIMS; the Bio- 

medical Group of Parker- 

Hannifin Corporation, 

Irvine, California, producer 

of the key microminiaturized 

fluid control system and 

infusion pump; and Tele- 

dyne Microelectronics Divi- 

sion, Los Angeles, California, 

makers of the electronics. 

The size of a hockey puck 

and encased in a titanium 

shell, PIMS holds about two 

and a half teaspoons of insu- 

lin at a programmed basal 

rate. If a change in measured 

blood sugar level dictates a 

different dose, the patient 

can vary the amount of insu-

lin delivered by holding a 

small radio mnsceiver over 

the implanted system and 

dialing in a speufic program 

held in the PIMS computer 

memory. A miniature two- 

way communications system, 

based on the space technol- 

ogy of telemetry, sends out 

signals fiom the implant 

with operating information 

such as insulin usage and 

pump performance. 'When 

an insulin dill is needed, 

about four times a year, it is 

accomplished without sur- 

gery by a special hypodermic 

needle. 

In laboratory tests, the 

implant's lithium battery 

and miaopwer circuits have 

demonstrated a lifetime 

capability of more than five 

years; new batteries in devel- 

opment have potential for a 

10-year lifedme, 

The first PIMS unit was 

surgically implanted in the 

abdomen of E Jackson 

Piotrow, a professor at 

American University, on 

November 10, 1986 at The 

Johns Hopkins Hospital, 

Baltimore, Maryland. At left, 

Piotrow is shown prior to 

the implantation with nurse 

Roslyn Polk (center) and Dr. 

Saudek. Since then there 

have been 17 additional 

implants. 

The PIMS development 

program continues to inspire 

additid spinoff products 

for health care. MiniMed 

Technologies' work on PIMS 

led to development and 

manufacture of the MiniMed 

Implantable Pump system 

(below), a second generation 

implantable, programmable 

pump with physician and 

patient controllers which will 

be implanted beginning in 

late 1988. In addition, 

Parker Hannifin's Biomedi- 

cal Group is producing an 

external delivery device; 

called the Parker Miao- 

pump, it is a pocket-sized 

micropump for infusion of 

chemotherapeutic, antibiotic 

and anti-pain medication. A 


Foam Cushioning 

T 

wenty yeats ago, Ames 

Research Center conducted 

a research program 

aimed at improving 

ctash protection for airplane 

passengers. One innovation 

developed by a conuactor in 

that ptogtam was an open 

cell polymeric foam material 

with unusual properties. 

Intended as padding for 

aitd seats, the material 

offered better impact protection 

in an accident and also 

enhanced passenger comfort 

on long flights because it 

disuibuted body weight and 

pressure evenly over the 

entire contact area. Called a 

"slow springback foam," it 

flowed to match the contour 

of the body pressing against 

it and renuned to its original 

68 Hsalth and Medicine 

shape once the pressure was 

removed. 

Initially marketed under 

the name Temper Foama, 

the matetial has become one 

of the most widely used 

spinoffs from NASA tech- 

nology. It is used for the 

applications originally in- 

tended, as aitd and heli- 

copter seat cushions for im- 

pact protection and fatigue 

attenuation. It is also em- 

ployed as padding for fiuni- 

me and for autos, trucks 

and offroad vehicles; in office 

chairs, dental stools and 

other types of seats that get 

long daily usage; as pottable 

cushioning for travelers and 

attendees at the theater or 

sporting events; in a variety 

of athletic equipment, such 

as football helmets, body 

pads or chest protectors; and 

in a very wide tange of med- 

ical applications. 

Temper Foam was origi- 

nally manufactured by a

company formed by the contractor's 

employee who had 

invented it, Dynamic Systems 

Inc. (DSI), Leicester, 

North Carolina. DSI subsequently 

sold the rights to the 

original formula but later remed 

to the slow springback 

foam field with different 

formulations. The rights 

for the original Temper 

Foam were acquired by 

Temper Foam, Inc., jointly 

owned by Kees Goebel 

Medical Specialties, Inc., 

Cincinnati, Ohio and 

Wed@, Inc., Dedham, 

Massachusetts. DSI and 

AliMed have introduced a 

number of evolutionary 

innovations, spinoffs from 

the original spinoff. 

DSI markets a line of orthopedlc 

support cushions 

for reducing fatigue and improving 

circulation. They 

come in various sizes, 

thicknesses and pressure 

qualities under the trade 

names Sun-Mate, Pudgee 

and Laminar. Of particular 

interest is DSI's Foam-In- 

Place Seating (FIPS), devel- 

oped primarily for severely 

disabled people to slow pro- 

gressive deformities and to 

ease soreness and fatigue due 

to long periods in wheel- 

chairs. 

FIPS is a process wherein 

liquid Sun-Mate ingredients 

are mixed, poured and con- 

tour-molded to the individ- 

ual's body and chair. At far 

left, a disabled child is leav- 

ing The Children's Hospital 

at Stanford Rehabilitation 

Engineering Center with a 

brand new FIPS chair, she is 

now able to sit for periods of 

3-8 hours where her earlier 

chair caused her physical dis- 

comfort in as little as 15-30 

minutes. 

The photo sequence shows 

the step by step FIPS process 

at The Children's Hospital 

at Stanford. At upper left, 

opposite page, the Sun-Mate 

ingredients &e mixed, then 

(adjacent photo) the mixture 

is poured into a plastic bag, 

which is used as a mold. At 

left center, seating specialists 

work with the patient and 

chair to be contoured to 

assure the most therapeutic 

body position. In minutes, 

the liquid forms and sets. 

After trimming, the seat is 

ready for upholstery. The 

final product is shown at left 

above. 

In addition to The Chil- 

dren's Hospital at Stanford, 

other therapy/rehabilitation 

centers using the FIPS pro- 

cess include the O'Berry 

Center, Goldsboro, North 

Carolina and the Heinzerling 

Developmental Center, Co- 

lumbus, Ohio. FIPS is also 

being widely applied in 

Canada. 

AliMed, Inc. markets the 

original Temper Foam and a 

newer, he retardant for- 

mulation d ed T-Foamm- 

which incidentally, is used in 

Space Shuttle seats. Both 

products are offered in sev- 

eral classifications of firmness 

and thickness for a great 

variety of cushioning appli- 

cations, such as wheelchair 

cushions, bed pads, take- 

along portable cushions, seat 

inserts for any type of chair, 

cervical collars and operating 

table pads. 

AliMed's foam materials 

are also used in many spe- 

cialty items, for example, the 

T-Foam Pressure Wrap for 

reducing swelling in an in- 

jured finger; the T-Stick for 

padding splints and braces; 

T-Foam Hand Exercisers 

(top); and the Tennis Elbow 

Strap (above) designed to 

support forearm muscles and 

relieve pain. A 

"T-Eoam is a trademark of AliMed, 

Inc. 

@AliMed is a registered trademark of 

AliMed, Inc. 

@Temper Foam is a registered a-ade- 

mark of Temper Foam, Inc. 


Space-Spurred Metallized Materials 

A wide range of reflective 

insulating products heads a i 

n the early days of the space program, 

NASA experimented with very large 

balloon-& satellites intended as orbital 

selection of spin off^ for 

relay stations for reflecting communications 

signals from one point on Earth to another. 

NASA needed a special kind of material 

for the balloon's skin. In order to "bounce" 

consumer, home and 

recreational use 

the radio signals, it had to be highly reflec- 

tive. It had to be inflatable in orbit to a di- 

ameter roughly equivalent to the height of a 

10-story building, yet it had to be folded 

into a beach-ball size canister for launch from 

Earth-thus it had to be extraordinarily thin 

and lightweight. 

The problem was solved by development 

of a metallized material, a plastic film coated 

with a superfine mist of vacuum-vaporized 

aluminum to create a foil-like effect. The 

metallic particles provided the required 

reflectivity and the balloon's skin was about 

half as thick as the cellophane on a cigarette 

package. The communications "bouncing" 

technique worked, but the concept was ulti- 

mately abandoned in favor of the active 

repeater type of communications relay 

employed in today's commercial satellite 

networks. 

Metallized plastics might have gone no- 

where had NASA not concurrently found an- 

other application: as a reflecting insulator, or 

thermal barrier, for protecting astronauts and 

sensitive spacecraft equipment from solar ra- 

diation and extremes of temperature. That 

triggered an ever-increasing demand for met- 

allized products. 

NASA did not invent metallization; in 

fact, the concept dates to the 19th century. 

But the NASA requirement proved to be the 

catalyst that transformed a small scale opera- 

tion into a flourishing industry. Before 

NASA came on the scene, metallized plastics 

were being produced on a very limited scale 

for decorative purposes, but there was little 

that could be called a metallization industry. 

NASA's initial needs provided a relatively 

large market and inspired extensive research 

and development toward improvement of 

vacuum metallizing techniques. That led to 

an ever-expanding role for metallized mate- 

rial in space applications-virtually every 

U.S. spacecraft, manned or unmanned, has 

used the material-and the impetus thus 

provided spurred development of a broad 

line of commercial metallized products, from 

insulated outdoors garments to packaging for 

foods, from wall coverings to window shades, 

from life rafts to candy wrappings, reflective 

blankets to photographic reflectors. 

One of the companies that worked with 

NASA on development of the original space 

materials is Metallized Products (MP), Win- 

chester, Massachusetts. MP continues to sup- 

ply metallized materials for a variety of space 

applications, but over more than a quarter of 

a century the company has developed an 

even broader spinoff line of industrial and 

consumer-oriented metallized film, fabric, 

paper and foam in single layer sheets and 

multilayer laminates. MP markets its own 

products and also supplies materials to 

manufacturers of other products. 

A widely used MP product is TXG larni- 

nate, a material that originated in a NASA 

requirement related to ocean survival rather 

than orbital flight. In all manned space 

flights prior to the advent of the Space Shut- 

tle, returning spacecraft descended by para- 

chute to an ocean landing. On the surface, 

the astronauts left their spacecraft, boarded 

inflatable rafts and waited for pickup by 

ships or helicopters of the recovery fleet.

Often the wait was a long one, because the 

spaceaaft on occasion splashed down as far 

as 250 miles from the nearest ship. To effect 

the quickest possible recovery, NASA asked 

MP to develop a highly reflective raft canopy 

whose mirrorlike sparkle could be seen at 

great distances or more readily detected by 

radar. MP's answer was the non-porous, 

waterproof, rotproof, superreflective TXG. 

Subsequently, Winslow Company Marine 

Products, Osprey, Florida obtained a license 

for commercial production of the survival 

raft and, in cooperation with MP, improved 

the strength and thermal characteristics of 

the material so that the raft canopy would 

provide maximum protection from heat, 

cold, wind or rain. Winslow now offers 

TXG canopies on its line of oblong and cir- 

cular survival rafts ranging in size from four 

to 12-person capacity. 

(Continued) 

Among a score of applications for 

a space spinoff reflective material 

called TXG is the Emergency 

Blanket, manufactured by 

Metallized Products, here being 

used by a ski patrol to protect a 

skier shaken by a fall; the blanket 

retains up to 80 percent of the 

user's body heat, preventing post- 

accident shock or chills. Carried by 

many types of emergency teams, 

the blanket is large when unfolded 

but folds into a package no bigger 

than a deck of playing cards.

Space-Spurred Metallized Materials (continned) 

Shown above is an example of 

Thermoguard heat shields, 

windshield and window curtains 

that reflect the Sun's rays and 

protect long-parked aircraft from 

"greenhouse" heat buildup and 

ultraviolet radiation that could 

damage the plane's sensitive and 

expensive avionic equipment. 

Thermoguard shields are custom- 

tailored-by Connecticut 

Advanced Products-from TXG 

metallized fabric. The company 

also provides curtains for use on 

autos (above right). Late model 

cars have electronic equipment 

that needs protection, but the 

Thermoguard shield also protects 

against upholstery fade and 

dashboard splitting caused by a 

breakdown of chemicals in plastic 

dashboards from long exposure to 

the Sun. At top is a closeup of a 

TXG sample, shaded gold for extra 

reflectivity. 

The TXG laminate has found broad and 

diverse employment. For example, it is used 

by Connecticut Advanced Products (CAP), 

Glastonbury, Connecticut for Thermoguard 

heat shields, custom-tailored reflective cur- 

tains that cover the windshield and windows 

of dosed, parked aircraft to protect avionics 

equipment and upholstery from "green- 

house" heat buildup and ultraviolet radia- 

tion. W similarly uses TXG for protection 

of boats and road vehicles, and it manufac- 

tures a reflective survival blanket made of 

TXG. 

Star Technology Corporation, Carbondale, 

Colorado employs TXG as a thermal barrier 

in its Starshade", a multilayered automatic 

shade system for large windows in comrner- 

cial or residential buildings. The standard 

system features an electric drive motor to 

raise or lower the shade, a beproof fiber- 

glass outer fabric and three layers of TXG, 

which combine with the fiberglass to provide 

exceptional insulation value. 

Among the many other types of materials 

MP supplies to manufactuters is SP 27 Thermal 

Interlining, a d long used in space 

suits; it features a reflective barrier that 

prevents the pasage of radiant energy, thus 

keeps heat from escaping from clothes or 

sleeping bags. It is used by many manufacturers 

of outdoor wear, such as pckers, pants, 

gaiters or gloves for climbers, campers and 

skiers. 

Among MP's own products are a quartet 

of protective fabrics with different names but 

similar purposes: the Emergency Blanket, the 

Space@ Brand Emergency Bag, the All- 

Weather Blanket and the Marathon Blanket; 

they reflect and retain up to 80 percent of 

the user's body heat, thus help prevent postaccident 

shock or post-exercise chills, or keep 

a person warm for hours in cold weather 

&is situations. All are remarkably compact. 

The Space Bag, for example, opens into a 

three by seven foot personal tent/blanket but 

folds into a three-ounce package the size of a 

deck of playing cards. MP also produces the 

Even-Up@ Tanning Blanket, which reflects 

the Sun's rays and disperses them to the 

hard-to-tan parts of the body.

Manufactured by Winslow 

Company Marine Products, the 

Winslow Radar Reflector Life Raft 

features a canopy made of TXG 

metallized nylon. The canopy 

serves dual purpose: it reflects the 

Sun's rays like a mirror, enabling 

radar or satellite sensors to spot 

survivors of a mariime accident 

at great distances, and it also 

provides thermal insulation to keep 

the occupants warm until rescued. 

An example of an industrial-type product 

is MP's NRC-2 Super Insulation for han- 

dling of uyogenics, fluids--such as liquid 

hydrogen-that must be maintained at 

supercold temperatures. NRC-2 is an alumi- 

num-coated polyester film with exceptional 

insulating qualities, used on the walls of 

cryogenic storage tanks, on pipes and valves, 

and on road tankers used to transport uyo- 

genic fluids. A 

"Starshade is a trademark of Star 

Technology Corporation. 

%pace Brand and Even-Up ace regis- 

tered trademarks of Metallized Prod- 

ucts. 

The windows of this home are 

fitted with Star Technology 

Corporation's Starshade automatic 

insulation system that includes an 

electric motor to raise or lower the 

shade. Intended for large windows 

in commercial or residential 

buildings, Starshade is a thermal 

barrier that bars or retains heat. 

The shade is made of three interior 

layers of TXG encased in an outer 

shield of flameproof fiberglass.

Sports Training 

ractitioners of the 

martial arts have long 

seen a need for a pre- 

cise method of measuring 

the power of a karate kick or 

a boxer's punch in training 

and competition. In the cus- 

tomary approach, an instruc- 

tor estimates the force em- 

ployed in splintering boards 

or smashing bricks by sight 

and sound, or a sparring 

partner considers the sound 

and feel of a blow to his 

body shield and gauges the 

blow's power. Such subjec- 

tive judgments are inexact. 

Barry French, a martial 

arts veteran of 17 years with 

black belts in karate and Tae 

Kwon Do, wanted a precise 

method of assessing his own 

power and that of the stu- 

dents he instructs. There was 

no system on the market- 

so he decided to develop 

one. The result of several 

years of research, including 

input from Lewis Research 

Center, is the Impax line of 

force measurement products, 

which has excited wide at- 

tention and favorable com- 

ment among the martial arts 

community. The equipment 

is marketed by ImpulseTM 

Sports Training Systems, Bay 

Vie, Ohio, a company 

formed by Barry French. 

At the start of his devel- 

opment don, French sought 

assistance from Lewis 

Research Center on available 

technologies that might be 

applicable to martial arts 

force measurement. During 

development, Lewis pro- 

vided what French terms 

"invaluable technical assis- 

tance," advising on such 

matters as sensors, materials 

and optimum structures, di- 

recting French to firms with 

expertise in such technol- 

ogies, and offering guidance 

toward problem solutions. 

The Impax sensor is a 

piezoelectric film less than 

one thousandth of an inch 

thick, yet extremely durable. 

Similar to sensors that mea- 

sure microscopic partide 

impacts in space, it gives out 

a voltage impulse when 

struck-the greater the force 

of impact, the higher the 

voltage. The impulse is 

transmitted to a compact 

electronics package, where 

the voltage is translated into 

a force-pounds reading and 

shown on a digital display. 

Mounted on a sheet of 

plastic for protection, the 

sensor is affixed to several 

martial arts training products 

-for example, a body 

shield, a hand mitt, a heavy 

punching bag or a wall pad. 

The accompanying photos 

illustrate the use of Irnpax 

g- At left, Barry French 

(white jacket) holds an

Impax Body Shield while 

former European middle- 

weight kickboxing champion 

Daryl Tyler delivers an ex- 

plosive jump side kidc, the 

force of the impact is regis- 

tered precisely and shown on 

the display panel of the elec- 

tronic box French is wearing 

on his belt. A doseup look 

at the Body Shield is shown 

at lefi above, where French's 

wife Mary Ellen (also a black 

belt) and son Barry are the 

demonstrators. Above, Tyler 

high kicks an Impax mitt 

worn by French. 

Among Impax users are 

martial arts instructors who 

are generally enthusiastic 

about the equipment's utility 

for generating competitive 

excitement among students, 

for testing and for charting 

students' power performance 

over time. Impax equipment 

is also used by serious mar- 

tial arts practitioners as a 

Sports Medicine and Science 

Group at the U.S. Olympic 

Committee Training Center 

is using Impax products for 

evaluation and training of 

boxers and Tae Kwon Do 

teams. The technology has 

been licensed to the largest 

manufacturers of football 

blocking sleds. Additionally, 

French reports that Impax 

Sports Training Systems 

(below). A 

have well received ""Impulse is a trademark of Impulse 

training t d for police de- sports Training Systems, Inc.

Heat Pipe Systems 

B 

elow, inventor James 

M. Stewart stands beside 

the externally visible 

portion-the solar panels--of 

a solar hot water 

system that employs space- 

:. derived heat pipe technology; 

it is used by a meat 

packing plant to heat water 

for cleaning processing machinery. 

The novel system, 

which won 1986 awards for 

energy innovation, was developed 

by Solar Fundamentals, 

Inc. (SFI), and is 

marketed by SF1 and by The 

Solar Works, Dewey, Oklahoma. 

At right, Stewart, 

who founded and is president 

of SFI, is checking the 

final assembly of another 

heat pipe system for recovering 

excess heat from a cookie 

company's baking ovens and 

using it to heat water for 

equipment cleaning. 

9 

r 

I 

The heat pipe is a heat 

transfer mechanism devel- 

oped for NASA by Los 

Alamos Scientific Laboratory 

(LASL) to solve a problem in 

the early days of the space 

program: the Sun-facing sur- 

faces of a non-rotating satel- 

lite became excessively hot 

while surfaces not exposed to 

the Sun became very cold, 

producing a situation that 

could cause failure of elec- 

tronic systems. LASL's an- 

swer was a simple device 

with no moving parts that 

extracted heat from the hot 

parts of the spacecraft and 

used it to warm cool parts. 

Stewart learned about heat 

pipes more than a decade 

ago through contact with 

NASA's Thology Appli- 

cations Center (TAC) at the 

University of New Mexico. 

Stewart incorporated the heat 

pipe technology into his own 

development of patented 

"heat tubes," which found 

application in the manufac- 

ture of plastic products. 

Stewart has since maintained 

contact with TAC and ob- 

tained updated NASA re- 

ports on advances in heat 

pipe technology, The NASA 

input assisted him in devel- 

opment of his HPCoil, the 

focal element of SF1 solar hot 

water systems. The HPCoil 

is a bundle of heat pipes 

that extract thermal energy 

from an air-based solar col- 

lector; heated air passes over 

fins to evaporate a fluid, 

which condenses and heats 

water. 

SFI's unit is a complete 

system with water heater, 

hot water storage, electrical 

controls and auxihy com- 

ponents. Other than fans 

and a circulating pump, 

there are no moving parts. 

SFI's citation from the Na- 

tional Awards Program for 

Energy Innovation stated 

that the use of heat pipes 

"sigdcantly increases sys- 

tem effiuenues" and added 

that the system's unique de- 

sign eliminates problems of 

balancing, leaking, corroding 

and freezing. A

Thermoelectric Products 

hown below is an of- 

fice use high purity 

water delivery system 

with a two cubic fobt ;her- 

moelectric refrigerator. Man- 

ufactured by United States 

Thermoelectric (UST), 

Chico, California, it is one of 

a line of UST products based 

in part on NASA thermo- 

electric technology. Among 

the company's products are 

portable heating and refrigeration 

units called precision 

temperature chambers 

(PTG), a m m d versions 

of systems developed for use 

in spgcecnrft under contract 

to Arne Research Center. 

Instead of the bulky coils 

and compressors used in conventional 

refiigeration systems, 

UST design engineers 

drew on thermoelectric technology. 

UST's precision temperature 

chambers (PTCs) 

feak small thermoelectric 

modules that measure not 

much more than one square 

inch and operate on a 

unique phenomenon of heat 

exchange: wheq electric current 

flows through special- 

ized metallic aysmls, heat is 

produced, and when the 

current direclion is reversed, 

cooling is produced. At 

right above an engineer is 

inspecting a thermoelectric 

assembly. 

PTCs have been used in 

medical and scientific appli- 

cab. Powered by the bat- 

tery of an auto or airplane, 

they offer a typical tempera- 

ture range of 35 to 150 

degrees Fahrenheit; a *tal 

keypad or a thumbwheel 

switch offers temperature se- 

leaion in one degree incre- 

ments. UST's chambers can 

drigerate for up to 48 hours 

on a single charge powered 

by a 16-ounce battery pack. 

As the company's name 

indicates, UST specialttes in 

R&D focused on creation of 

proprietary thermoelectric 

systems for consumer, com- 

mercial, industrial and aero- 

space use. Products indude 

heating and cooling systems, 

power generators and ther- 

moelectric systems operated 

by solar power sources. UST 

chief executive ofKcer and 

general manager James M. 

Kerner states that his com- 

pany has bendted from 

NASA technology in several 

areas. NASA crystal growth 

technology has proved valu- 

able. In designing advanced 

thermoelectric power genera- 

tion systems, UST employs 

NASA technology developed 

for the radioisotope thermo- 

electric generators aboard 

several long duration space- 

craft. The company also 

benefits from NASA solar 

power technology. 

Other UST products in- 

dude therm-c solar 

driven refiigerators; a Third 

World refrigerator that can 

operate on very low power or 

on solar power; a Refrigera- 

tion Conversion Module that 

can convert any insulated 

container into a +erator, 

and several types of PTCs. 

Scheduled for release this 

year or early in 1989 is an 

Undercounter Water Deliv- 

ery System for the home that 

delivers p ded hot and 

cold water to the household 

sink at the touch of an 

electronic faucet. A

Glass Artworks 

hown below is a mag- 

nificent Rocking 

Combination Arc, a 

glass artwork by Harvey K. 

Littleton, father of what is 

known in art circles as the 

studio glass movement. Be- 

fore Littleton, the technologi- 

cal demands of working hot 

glass dictated that such 

artworks be produced by 

skilled technicians in fac- 

tories with an array of special 

equipment. In the 1960s, 

Littleton popularized the 

techniques that enabled an 

artist working alone in a stu- 

dio to create high quality 

glass artworks. Littleton 

passed on his technology to 

groups he taught at the Uni- 

versity of Wisconsin; many 

of his students formed their 

own university glass art pro- 

grams and helped advance 

the technology. T hy there 

are estimated to be more 

than 1,000 glass studios in 

the U.S. 

Sevd NASA technol- 

ogies have played a part in 

the growth and cost contain- 

ment of studio glass art, 

among them a foam-type in- 

sulation developed to meet a 

need for a lightweight mate- 

rial that would reduce flame 

spread in an airad? fire. The 

foam comes in several forms 

and is widely used by glass 

artists, chiefly as an insulator 

for the various types of ovens 

used in glass working. The 

principal advantage is econ- 

omy; other insulating ma- 

terials absorb much of the 

heat energy and require three 

to four times the amount of 

fuel.

Another spinoff is the use 

of alumina crucibles to con- 

tain molten glass. A fabrica- 

tion process for alumina 

crucibles was developed by 

Marshall Space Flight Center 

for use in experiments on in- 

organic crystals. Prior to that 

time, glass tanks were made 

of firebrick, which tended to 

erode under high tempera- 

ture and cause impurities. 

The use of alumina crucibles 

not only improved quality 

but made the process more 

cost effective. 

One more NASA technol- 

ogy that has found its way 

into glass artworking is a 

material known as graphite 

board, a special form of 

graplute o+y developed 

for rodret motor applications 

by Great Lakes Carbon Cor- 

poration, Briardiff Manor, 

New York. .4n example of 

the utility of this kind of 

graphite is found in the 

work of artist Mark Peiser, 

who machines it in his stu 

dio to exact compound an- 

gles and aeates molds for 

poured-glass artworks of dra- 

matic design. At upper left 

on the opposite page is a 

graphite mold in the fore- 

ground and the resulting art- 

work (cost $11,000) in the 

background. 

At top left center, the 

husband-wife team of John 

and Kate Littleton is aeating 

a blown glass artwork. In the 

left center photo, John Lit- 

tleton is dipping a blowpipe 

into an alumina crucible in- 

side a gas-fired oven; a new 

crucible is shown in front of 

the oven. The glass formula 

is melted and kept liquid for 

days and even weeks, 

throughout the production 

of the artwork. Once the 

piece is completed, it must 

be cooled to room tempera- 

ture very slowly, only a de- 

gree per hour. This is done 

in an electric annealing oven 

such as the one (top left) in 

which Kate Littleton is placing 

a completed work. The 

electricity cost for the long 

period of cooling would be 

enormous except for the 

superinsulating qualities of 

the insulator lining the oven. 

The top right photo illustrates 

another use of the 

foam insulator--as a base for 

a fused glass design. The 

foam is the white material 

set on a ceramic plate; on 

top of it artist Gary Beecham 

has arranged colored 

glass rods to form a desired 

design. The whole package is 

then placed inside an electric 

oven and heated to about 

I 

1800 degrees Fahrenheit; 

then the glass rods melt together 

into Beecham's predetermined 

design. At left, 

Beecham peels away the 

foam support sheet, which is 

easily removed and leaves no 

residue or impurities. A

Telescope Equipment 

A 

t right is the awardwinning 

Renaissance 

Telescope for high 

resolution photography and 

visual astronomy. Below it 

are five 82' Field TeleVue 

Nagler Eyepieces, some of 

the accessories that contribute 

to high image quality. 

The telescope and eyepieces 

are representative of a family 

of optical equipment manufactured 

by TeleVue Optics, 

Inc., Pearl River, New York. 

TeleVue's devices incorporate 

space technology developed 

for NASA's Gemini and 

Apollo projects. 

TeleVue products represent 

examples of the personnel 

type technology transfer, 

wherein people who work for 

NASA or its contractors 

move to another industry, 

bringing with them aerospace-acquired 

skills and 

know-how applicable to 

non-aerospace use. 

The instrument of technology 

transfer in this instance 

was A1 Nagler, president 

and founder of TeleVue 

Optics. From 1957 to 1973, 

Nagler worked as senior optical 

systems designer for 

Farrand Optical Company, 

Valhalla, New York. Under 

contract to NASA, Farrand 

developed visual simulators 

for w ed NASA programs. I 

NagIer's particular respon- 

sibility was displays for the 

Gemini and Apollo Lunar 

Module spacecraft. The 

visual simulators used large 

mirrors to project images of 

Earth orbit, docking and lu- 

nar landing. The latter was 

simulated by a complex "op- 

tical probe," a TV camera 

and lens that "flew" down 

onto a scale model of the 

lunar surface. 

Nagler's experience in 

these and other space tech- 

nologies provided the tech- 

nical basis for the Renais- 

sance Telescope, his patented 

wide angle eyepieces and 

other optical systems. In 

1977, Nagler founded 

TeleVue, which designs and 

manufactures projection TV 

lenses as well as telescopes 

and eyepieces, and addition- 

ally performs consulting and 

optical design for the rnili- 

tary services, aerospace firms 

and commercial businesses. A

Plant Minders 

A 

rchitects and interior 

designers are inaeasingly 

using indoor arrangements 

of live plants to 

enhance the attractiveness of 

office suites, hotel lobbies, 

restaurants, lounges, banks 

and homes. Plants are gener- 

ally installed by contractors 

called "plantscapers," who 

also perform contract main- 

tenance functions-watering, 

inspection, cleaning, rotation 

and replacement. By one es- 

timate, watering accounts for 

25-60 percent of the time 

spent on-site by maintenance 

technicians. Therefore, main- 

tenance costs can be substan- 

tially reduced by an auto- 

mated system for watering 

indoor plants, says ~tuart- 

Snyder, president of Aqua/ 

Trends, Boca Raton, Florida, 

who invented a family of 

computer-controlled Micro- 

Irrigation Systems. 

At upper right is a Palm 

Beach (Florida) condomin- 

ium lobby whose plants have 

been automatically tended 

for five years by an Aqua/ 

Trends system. In the center 

photo, Snyder is pictured 

with some of the elements of 

his system in a home instal- 

lation. The Aqua/Trends 

system draws water from 

building outlets or from a 

pump/reservoir module and 

distributes it to the plants 

via a network of tubes and 

adjustable nozzles. A key 

element of the system is an 

electronic controller pro- 

grammed to dispense water 

according to the needs of the 

I 

I 

I 

various plants in an installa- 

tion. At far right is a doseup 

of an adjustable nozzle that 

meters out exactly the right 

amount of water at the 

proper time to the plant it 

is serving. More than 100 

Aqua/Trends systems are 

in service in the U.S.; they 

come in various sizes, from 

a simple residential system 

that takes care of up to 12 

houseplants to a Mirage I11 

system integrated into a 

structure to water all the 

greenery in a large office or 

apartment building. 

NASA provided Snyder 

assistance during develop- 

ment of the Aqua/Trends 

line through the Southeast 

Area Office of the Southern 

Technology Applications 

Center (STAC), located at 

Florida Atlantic University, 

Fort Lauderdale. STAC 

furnished pertinent NASA 

technical repom, advised 

Snyder of seminars useful in 

product development, and 

put him in contact with 

NASA's National Space 

Technology Laboratories 

(NSTL). NSTL conducts an 

ongoing research effort in 

plant use for water purifica- 

tion and pollution control 

(see page 94) and it made 

available to Snyder reports 

of this work. A

Pool Purification 

hewn above is a Flor- 

ida pond cluttered by 

algae. At right above 

is the same pond 48 hours 

after treatment by a new wa- 

ter purification system-no 

algae and very dear water, 

evidenced by the clouds re- 

flected on the mirror-like 

surface of the pond. These 

before and after photos were 

made to demonstrate the ef- 

ficacy of the Caribbean Clear 

Automatic Pool Purifier, 

which utilizes NASA tech- 

nology developed to sterilize 

the water supply of long 

duration spacecraft. 

In the 1960s and early 

"$ 

1970s, Johnson Space Center A 

conducted a research program 

aimed at development 

of a small, lightweight water 

purifier that would require 

minimal power and no astronaut 

monitoring. This pro- 

1 

gram produced an electrolytic 

silver ion generator only 

slightly larger than a cigarette 

pack and weighing only 

nine ounces. One or more 

units, mounted at various locations 

in the potable water 

supply and wastewater system 

of Apollo or future 

spacecraft, would dispense 

silver ion concentrations of 

100 to 300 parts a billion, 

sufficient to eliminate bacteria 

in the water within hours. 

Caribbean Clear, Inc., a 

Leesville, South Carolina

Automatic Pool Purifier, a 

system that offers an alternative 

approach to the use of I 

conventional purification At lower lefi is a residenchemicals. 

Caribbean Clear's tial swimming pool with a 

principal markets are swim- built-in hot tub, both 

ming pool owners who want serviced by the Automatic 

to eliminate chlorine and Pool Purifier; the system is 

bromine. The purifiers in the effective in both units de- 

Caribbean Clear system are spite the difference in temthe 

same silver ions used in perature. Shown above is the 

the Apollo system to kill key element of the system, 

bacteria, plus copper ions to two silver-copper alloy eleckill 

algae. They produce pool trodes which generate the siland 

spa water that ver and copper ions when an 

exceeds the Environmental electric current is passed 

Protection Agency's stan- through them. The rest of 

dards for drinking water. the system includes a miaocomputer 

that monitors water 

condition, water temperature 

and electrode wear, and 

A * 3 d a controller that automatically 

introduces the correct 

amount of ions into the water; 

the upper right photo 

shows the controller with the 

electrodes and their 

I 

1 Caribbean Clear maintains 

that purifying a pool with its The system is now avail- tial hot tub to a six million 

system costs less than treat- able in the U.S. through gallon commercial pool. In 

ing the same pool with some 200 fmchises, and in addition to private pool 

chlorine and algaecides. The 42 foreign countries; there owners, Caribbean Clear 

Automatic Pool Purifier re- are more than 10,000 units numbers among its custom- 

quires only a once-weekly in operation. The company ers the U.S. Navy, Holiday 

test to measure the level of makes units in different Inns, Marriott and Sheraton 

copper ions in the pool; a models for purifying every- hotels, YMCA facilities and 

twist of a knob in the con- thing from a small residen- many health clubs. Other 

trol unit increases or de- applications include killing 

creases output as required. algae and bacteria in fish 

Caribbean Clear works ponds, fountains and cooling 

with Departments of Health towers. A 

throughout the world and 

with independent testing 

laboratories to assure safe, 

non-toxic water (right).

I 

Racing with the Sun 

An experimental solar 

electric car with remarkable 

performance highlights a 

1 sampling of technology 

transfers in the field of 

I 

i 

I 

I energy 

84 Energy 

n the morning of November 1, 

1987, 25 odd-looking vehicles ded 

parted Darwin on Australia's North 

Coast in the inaugural World Solar Challenge 

Race, a competition for solar-powered 

autos with entries from Austraha, Denmark, 

Germany, Japan, Palustan, Switzerland and 

the United States. 

Five and a half days later, General Motors' 

Sunraycer, one of four American entries, 

crossed the finish line near Adelaide, South 

Australia-more than 600 miles and two 

and a half days ahead of its nearest competitor 

after a grueling, 1,950-mile run through 

tropic heat and humidity in northern Australia, 

through a thousand miles of desert heat 

in the Central Australia outback, and finally 

into a temperate dimate in the last stages of 

the race. 

The little one-seater covered the northsouth 

transcontinental route at an average 

speed of 41.6 miles per hour. Its average 

speed was considerably better than the prior 

world speed record for land vehicles powered 

by direct energy from the Sun-35.22 miles 

per hour, a record also held by Sunraycer. 

Sixteen General Motors operations and 

several suppliers joined forces to design, 

build and drive the sleek Sunraycer. One 

of the prime movers was Hughes Aircraft 

Company, a subsidiary of GM Hughes Elec- 

tronics Company and a longtime NASA con- 

tractor. Hughes designed and built the solar 

arrays, composed of 1,400 Hughes silicon 

solar cells and 3,800 gallium arsenide cells 

each from Applied Solar Energy Corporation 

and Mitsubishi Electric Corporation. These 

photovoltaic cells convert the Sun's rays di- 

rectly into electricity. Development of photo- 

voltaic power was pioneered by NASA and 

its contractors-including Hughes-and it 

has been used to power most of the space- 

craft sent into orbit. 

The Sanraycer project embraced a number 

of other advanced technologies, including a 

revolutionary electric motor, developed by 

GM Research Laboratories and Delco Remy, 

and several aerospace-related technologies, 

such as microelectronics, optics, lightweight 

materials and communications. In addition, 

the vehicle was designed with the help of a 

NASA-developed computer program called 

VSAERO, used to calculate the aerodynamic 

characteristics of the Sunraycer. 

The Sunraycer features a welded alumi- 

num tube "spaceframe" chassis, designed by 

AeroVironment Inc., Monrovia, California, 

and a body of lightweight honeycomb sand- 

wich material. The low-slung teardrop shape 

is designed to achieve extremely low aerody- 

namic drag, with low side forces during 

crosswinds, while providing a suitable surface 

for the solar cells and adequate space for the 

driver (six drivers alternated, four to five 

hours at a time, in the Solar Challenge race). 

Less than 20 feet long, the Sunraycer 

weighs only 547 pounds with driver. The 

canopy is goldplated to reflect 90 percent of 

the visible light and 98 percent of infrared 

radiation, which holds down temperatures in 

very hot climates. 

The solar array spreads over 90 square feet 

of the vehicle's aft curved surface. It was de-

I 

veloped by Hughes' Space and Communications 

Group, which has special expertise in 

fabricating curved solar arrays; a hallmark of 

Hughes satellites is the technique of installing 

solar cells on the exterior surface of a cylindrical 

spacecraft body, rather than on Aatpanel 

solar wings. Although the intensity of 

the Sun's rays and the temperature of the 

environment affect output, the solar array 

typically operates at 150 volts, providing up 

to 1,500 watts of power at noon. The electricity 

generated flows to the motor or to 

the storage battery system, composed of 68 

rechargeable silver zinc cells producing a total 

of 102 volts. The batteries weigh 60 pounds, 

one-fifth the weight of a lead acid battery of 

the same capacity. In the race, battery power 

was used early and late in the day to supplement 

the reduced solar power available at 

those times. A 

Near the midway mark of the 1,950-mile trans- 

Australia race, the General Motors Sunraycer passes 

a camel train in Central Australia's outback. Powered 

by space-derived solar cell technology and incorpo- 

rating a number of other aerospace technologies, the 

547-pound one-seater averaged better than 41 

miles an hour and finished 600 miles ahead 

of its nearest competitor.

Motor Controller 

S 

everal years ago, Mar- 

shall Space Flight 

Center engineer Frank 

- 

Nola came up with a way to 

curb power wastage in AC 

induction motors caused by 

the fact that such motors op- 

erate at a fixed voltage, the 

voltage necessary to handle 

the heaviest loads the motor 

is designed to carry. The 

wastage occurs when the 

motor is operating at less 

than full load but is still get- 

ting full load power. Nola's 

answer was a device called 

the Power Factor Controller 

(PFC) that matches voltage 

with the motor's actual need. 

Plugged into a motor, the 

PFC continuously determines 

motor load by sensing shifts 

between voltage and current 

flow; when it senses a light 

load it cuts the voltage to 

the minimum needed. It of- 

fers potential energy savings 

ranging from eight percent 

all the way up to 65 percent, 

depending on the type of 

application. 

Considering the millions 

of electric motors in service 

I and the rising cost of energy, 

I it was not surprising that 

Nola's invention excited 

broad interest and became 

one of the most widely used 

NASA spinoffs. A user ex- 

ample of particular interest is 

86 Energy 

the experience of Myles H. 

Marks, then a Pittsburgh 

(Pennsylvania) television 

broadcast engineer who 

started out with the notion 

of doing a magazine article 

about the PFC and wound 

up with a thriving garage 

industry selling controller 

kits in volume. 

Marks learned of the PFC 

from a TV broadcast and hit 

upon the idea of writing an 

article for Popular Efectronic~ 

magazine and at the same 

time offering to furnish kits 

to readers interested in assembling 

their own PFCs. 

The editor of Popular Electronics 

was enthusiastic about 

the project, so Marks began 

gathering information. 

He contacted the NASA 

Industrial Applications Center 

at Pittsburgh, which supplied 

him a detailed technical 

information package 

and advised him how to obtain 

a NASA license. Marks 

got the license, developed his 

own prototype and patented 

it as the Electra-MiserTM, a 

unit designed to cut power 

up to 40 percent in type- 

writers, washing machines, 

refrigerators and similar 

equipment. With NASA 

help, he also lined up suppli- 

ers for the various compo- 

nents of the Electra-Miser kit. 

When the Popular Elec- 

tronics article appeared, 

Marks was stunned by the 

response. Within two weeks 

he had orders for 500 kits 

and the orders kept coming 

over a three-year span. He 

used his garage as a kit as- 

sembly plant and the rest of 

the house as a warehouse, 

and nuned out some 2,500 

kits. Marks is shown above 

with an Elecua-Miser (black 

TY~lectra-Miser is a trademark of M. 

H. Marks Enterprises. 

box) installed on a home 

heating blower unit; below is 

the normal sine wave of the 

electrical current and the 

power savings (blue) the 

Electra-Miser makes possible 

by interrupting the cycle. 

In time the PFC technol- 

ogy spread widely and, as 

many new suppliers entered 

the field, demand for the 

Electra-Miser fell off, but 

Marks still maintains a 

supply of parts and builds 

Electra-Misers on special 

demand.

Flow Measurement 

laser velocimeter (LV) 

is a system used in 

wind tunnel testing of 

airaaft, missiles and space- 

craft. It employs electro- 

optical techniques to probe 

the flow field as the tunnel 

blows air over a model of 

the flight vehicle, and to de- 

termine the velocity of the 

air and its direction at many 

points around the model. 

The LV makes measure- 

ments at rates up to one mil- 

lion per second and reports 

them to a computer. 

Current state-of-the-art 

minicomputers, however, 

cannot handle the massive 

flow of real time data from 

several sources simulta- 

neously. To compensate for 

this limitation, Langley Re- 

search Center developed an 

instrument with the impres- 

sive name of Laser Velocime- 

ter Autocovariance Buffer 

Interface (LVABI) . The 

LVABI is an interconnecting 

instrument between the LV 

and the computer. It 

acquires the data from as 

many as six LV channels at 

high real time data rates, 

stores it in its memory, and 

sends it to the computer on 

command. 

The LVABI can also ac- 

quire data from other instru- 

mentation used in conjunc- 

tion with the LV. In wind 

tunnel testing, the LVABI 

can therefore provide a com- 

plete analytical picture of the 

flow about a model each 

time a measurement is 

made. 

Langley began developing 

the LVABI in 1976 and, in 

1980, initiated work on a 

more advanced second gen- 

eration instrument in cooper- 

ation with Macrodyne, Inc., 

Schenectady, New York. 

Langley and Macrodyne also 

teamed in a technology utili- 

zation project to commercial- 

ize the technology. At left is 

the LVABI instrument; 

above, a Macrodyne engineer 

is testing its circuitry. 

The LVABI has applica- 

tion in a variety of research, 

industrial and defense func- 

tions that require precise 

flow measurement. It is, for 

example, used in parametric 

measurements of fluid flow 

in chemical processing and 

electricity flow in utility op- 

erations. Customers include a 

number of government and 

private research laboratories, 

university research centers, 

industrial companies and 

electric power utilities. A 

Energy 87

Solar Electricity 

hen sunlight 

strikes certain ma- 

terials-such as sil- 

icon--electrons are set in 

motion. These moving elec- 

trons can be drawn off as 

electricity. That is the basic 

principle of photovoltaic con- 

version, or PV, the method 

of providing power to nearly 

all the satellites launched 

into space. In recent years, 

PV has been getting more of 

a foothold in practical Earth 

applications. 

The first step in produc- 

ing a PV system is to make 

the solar cells, very thin, 

treated wafers of extremely 

pure silicon sliced from cy- 

lindrical uystals "grown" 

from molten silicon. Then 

the cells are electrically con- 

nected and encased in weath- 

erproof packages called mod- 

ules. Several modules join 

together to form a panel and 

any number of panels can be 

assembled to form a PV 

array. 

NASA pioneered PV 

power for spacecraft and has 

been very active in support 

of Department of Energy 

(DOE) programs designed to 

expand Earth applications. 

Lewis Research Center sup- 

88 Energy 

ports DOE by conducting 

demonstrations of the advan- I 

tages of this type of power 

generation. NASA's Jet Propulsion 

Laboratory (JPL) is 

the organization primarily 

responsible for developing 

advanced PV technology and 

finding ways to cut costs. 

Research has gradually reduced 

the cost to the point 

where PV is in practical use 

in a number of Third World 

areas where no established 

energy network exists. In de- 

veloped countries, it is still 

too expensive for widespread 

commercial, industrial and 

residential applications but it 

is making an appearance as a 

working component of the 

U.S. utility grid. 

"People have traditionally 

thought of photovoltaics as a etry systems that monitor 

technology with promise of environmental conditions. 

becoming a source of utility They are also used to 'power 

scale energy in the more or agricultural water pumping 

less distant future," says systems, to provide electricity 

James H. Caldwell, presi- for isolated villages and 

dent of ARC0 Solar, Inc., medical clinics, for corrosion 

Carnardlo, California, a sub- protection for pipelines and 

sidiary of Atlantic Richfield bridges, to power railroads 

Company. "The fact is, signals and air/sea navigaphotovoltaics 

is already a tional aids, and for many 

business, using today's types of military systems. 

technology to supply Since 1982, ARC0 has been 

power today." 

ARCO Solar manufactures 

PV systems tailored to 

a broad variety of applications. 

PV arrays are routinely 

used at remote communications 

installations to operate 

large microwave repeaters, 

TV and radio repeaters, rural 

telephones and small telemmoving 

into large scale PV 

I 

power generation for utilities. 

A JPL contractor since the 

early development of Earth- 

use solar arrays, ARCO Solar 

designed and built some of 

the world's largest PV 

systems. 

Shown above is an ARCO 

Solar PV power plant located 

on 20 acres at Hesperia, 

California. It is capable of 

generating one megawatt of 

electrical power and supply- 

ing 3 million kilowatt hours 

of electricity annually; at the 

time of the plant's dedica- 

tion in 1983, its rated capac- 

ity was three times greater 

than any PV system in the 

world. The system makes 

maximum use of available 

sunlight by means of auto- 

matic, computer-controlled

trackers that continually 

point the PV panels directly 

at the Sun for efficient ac- 

quisition of solar radiation. 

The Hesperia station has 

256 PV modules on each of 

108 tracker pedestals. Its 

electricity, enough to serve 

300-400 homes, is pur- 

chased by Southern Califor- 

nia Edison Company (SCE) 

and fed to SCE's utility grid. 

Between the plant and the 

utility grid is an inverter sta- 

tion that converts the elec- 

tricity from direct current 

(DC), the type of current 

generated by PV systems, to 

alternating current (AC), the 

current to which the U.S. 

utility grid is geared. 

ARCO Solar also built a 

one megawatt facility for the 

I 

I 

Sacramento (California) 

Municipal Utility District. 

But the granddaddy of all 

PV systems is ARCO Solar's 

6.5 megawatt plant at 

Carrisa Plains, just west of 

Bakersfield in California's 

Kern County. The 160-acre 

plant, part of which is 

I shown above, has 756 solar 

trackers, each with 16 PV 

panels. It produces almost 

14 million kilowatt hours a 

year, enough to serve 2,300 

average homes, and feeds it 

to the grid of Pacific Electric 

Company. It is planned to 

boost the Carrisa Plains 

capacity eventually to 16 

megawatts. 

ARCO Solar has PV in- 

stallations on five continents 

and the company's broad 

product line ranges from 

mammoth systems like 

Carrizo Plain to simple units 

that provide power for re- 

charging recreational vehicles 

batteries. An in between ex- 

ample is pictured at left; it is 

a three-acre, 300 kilowatt 

municipal utility financed by 

the city of Austin, Texas. 

ARCO Solar won the bid for 

the plant, provided the de- 

sign and the PV modules. A

Research Help 

T 

he experience of The 

Electrosynthesis Company, 

Inc., East Amherst, 

New York illustrates 

the benefits available to industry 

through a network of 

NASA assistance centers that 

provide information retrieval 

services and technical help. 

NASA operates 10 such 

centers serving different geographical 

areas; the one in 

this instance is NERAC, 

Inc., Tolland, Connecticut. 

Electrosynthesis is a small 

entrepreneurial firm that receives 

research and development 

funding through the 

Small Business Innovation 

Research (SBIR) program. 

Company president Dr. 

Norman Weinberg states 

that he uses NERAC's services 

to advantage in preparing 

each SBIR proposal. 

NERAC prepares customized 

literature searches, provides 

helpful technological 

background and current 

awareness informationincluding 

pertinent NASA 

90 Energy 

technology-and helps participants 

investigate patents, 

gain competitive intelligence 

and identlfy qualified technical 

experts. 

NERAC also provides information 

about commercial 

possibilities and market conditions. 

Electrosynthesis 

plans internal manufacturing 

and marketing of certain of 

its products and expanded 

marketing through licensing 

agreements with larger 

manufacturers. 

Among several projects in 

R&D or limited production 

status is a family of carbon/ 

graphite materials known as 

Specifically Fluorinated Carbons 

or SFCTM. Shown in 

various forms above, SFC 

materials offer efficiency improvement 

and extended 

lifetime for batteries, fuel 

cells and electrodes due to 

superior stability and 

electrocatalytic properties. 

Electrosynthesis is also investigating 

other chemically 

modified carbons for use in 

L "SFC 

lithium batteries. The bot- 

tom photo shows a test of a 

lithiurn/carbon battery 

bathed in thiomyl chloride 

solution. The composition is 

readily decomposed when 

oxygen or water vapor is 

present, so the test is con- 

ducted inside a "glove box" 

with an inert argon gas envi- 

ronment free of moisture 

and oxygen. 

Below, a scientist is test- 

ing the efficiency of the 

company's ElecmcheratorTM 

System, which integrates a 

highly effective air scrubber 

TIL 

and Electrocinerator are d e - 

marks of The Elemosynthesis Com- 

pany, Inc. 

with an electrochemical cell 

to provide an apparatus ca- 

pable of destroying virtually 

all toxic chemicals and air- 

borne bacteria. The project is 

funded by the Department 

of Defense as a prospective 

means of decontaminating 

airborne chemicals and bio- 

logical watfare agents. It also 

has broad civil use applica- 

bility, for example, hospital 

use for destruction of air- 

borne viruses and bacteria 

and industrial use for elimi- 

nating toxic solvent vapors 

and malodorous emissions. r

Light Reflector 

A 

t right, a fluorescent 

lighdng fixture is getting 

a boost in reflectivity 

through installation of 

Lightdrive@, a thin, tough 

thermoplastic film plated 

with aluminum capable of 

reflecting 95 percent of the 

visible light striking it. 

Lightdriver is marketed by 

Ultra Sales, Inc., Colonia, 

New Jersey. 

Lightdriver increases 

brightness without adding 

bulbs and allows energy 

savings by removing some 

bulbs, because the mirrorlike 

surface cuts the light loss 

generally occasioned by the 

conventional low reflectivity 

white painted surface above 

the bulbs in many fluorescent 

6xtures. With 

Lightdriver, says Ultra Sales, 

a 45 percent reduction in 

electricity usage is arminable 

by removing two of the 

bulbs in a four bulb fixture; 

the remaining two will stdl 

provide excellent lighting. 

Additional savings accrue 

from lower air conditioning 

bills due to fewer heatproducing 

bulbs in use and 

from bulb replacement costs, 

Bonus advantages indude 

even lighting throughout a 

work area, less glare and 

eyestrain, and the fm that 

Lightdriver does not reb most ultraviolet light. 

Sold in sheets and cut to 

fit fixtures, Lightdriver is 

made in three layers: the 

thermoplastic film, which 

proterrs the reflective surface 

from corrosion and insulates 

it elearically; the aluminum 

reflector, which provides 

greater reflectivity than a 

standard mirror; and a per- 

manent adhesive with re- 

movable backing (top) for 

simple installation. 

Lightdriver is one more 

adaptation of a spinoff met- 

allization technology that 

originated in a 1960 NASA 

project involving develop- 

ment of a lightwe'ght, 

highly refiective skin for a 

balloon type satellite. The 

need was met by Metallized 

Produces (MP), Winchester, 

Massachusetts (see page 

70), which developed a 

metallized plastic film coated 

with a mist of aluminum 

particles. That development 

trigged extensive R&D by 

MP and other companies on 

metalbed materials, which 

found brd application as 

reflecting insulators and radiation 

barriers in space systems 

and in a bro~d range of 

commercial products. A 

"Lightdriver is a registered trademark 

of Ultra Sales, Inc. 

Energy 91

Wastewater Treatment: The Natural Wdy 

I A system employing aquatic n the spring of 1985, the town of 

! 

I Haughton, Louisiana, faced a problem: 

plants as water purification the state Department of Environmental 

Quality had notified Mayor Harold R. Lee 

I agents hig blights spinofis in that Haughton's wastewater treatment 

facility was in violation of environmental 

environmentalcontroland protectionstandards. 

resources management 

It looked at first as though Haughton 

would have to lay out $1.2 million for add- 

on modifications to its activated sludge facil- 

ity-and also pay considerably more to oper- 

ate the expanded facility. That would have 

been a heavy financial strain for the commu- 

nity of 2,000. 

But Mayor Lee had an idea. He had read 

of the research of Dr. Billy C. Wolverton, 

head of the Environmental Research Labora- 

tory at NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center 

(SSC) in Mississippi. Wolverton is widely 

acclaimed for his innovative work in natural 

water purification, which involves use of 

Not a floral display, but a practical wastewater treat- 

ment facility-a field of floating water hyacinths that 

absorb and digest pollutants in wastewater, a tech- 

nology that stemmed from NASA studies of water 

reclamation systems for long-duration spacecraft. 

aquatic plants to remove pollutants from 

wastewater at relatively low cost. Wolverton 

and his SSC group had developed a new and 

advanced technique known as the artificial 

marsh filtering system, which seemed a possi- 

ble answer to Haughton's dilemma. Haugh- 

ton officials contracted Wolverton, visited an 

artificial marsh test site and learned details of 

the operation. When they looked into relative 

costs of the two options, "The choice was 

dear," said the mayor; the NASA technology 

would permit development of a wastewater 

treatment facility that would allow for growth 

to almost double the town's population at a 

cost less than one-third the estimate for 

improving the old system. 

The facility Haughton built is an 1 1-acre 

sewage lagoon with a 70 by 900 foot artifi- 

cial marsh called a vascular aquatic plant/ 

microbial filter cell. In the cell, microor- 

ganisms and rooted aquatic plants combine 

to absorb and digest wastewater pollutants, 

thereby converting sewage effluents to rela- 

tively dean water. Raw wastewater, after a 

period in the sewage lagoon, flows over a 

rock bed populated by microbes that digest 

nutrients and minerals from the sewage, thus 

partially deaning it. Additional treatment is 

provided by the aquatic plants growing in 

the rock bed, which absorb more of the 

pollutants and help deodorize the sewage. 

The Haughton facility went on line early 

in 1987. A year later, Haughton was able to 

reduce its sewer user fees by 25 percent. The 

facility was easily meeting the more stringent 

wastewater deansing standards and there was 

a bonus: the system won an award in the 

American City and County magazine Awards 

of Merit.

"To say that we are extremely pleased and 

proud of this facility would be an under- 

statement," says Mayor Lee. "The artificial 

marsh rock-reed filter cost less to build, costs 

less to maintain and operate, and is much 

more efficient than any other system we 

could have built. " 

Haughton was among the first communi- 

ties to employ the new artificial marsh tech- 

nology but many other U.S. municipalities 

have benefited from SSC aquaculture tech- 

niques, which Wolverton and his group have 

been researching since 1974. 

The program was initiated as a possible 

means of deansing, detoxifying and reusing 

wastewater in space stations or long-duration 

spacecraft. Although a number of mechanical 

purification systems were-and are being- 

studied, SSC focused its effort on the ability 

of aquatic plants-notably the water hya- 

cinth, which literally thrives on sewage-to 

absorb and metabolize astonishing amounts 

of nutrients and pollutants from wastewater. 

Use of water hyacinths offered potential bo- 

nus value because they could be harvested 

and used as fuel, fertilizer or as a protein/ 

mineral additive to cattle feed. 

Afier successful tests at SSC, the facility's 

neighboring community of Bay St. Louis, 

Mississippi, became-in 197 5-the first 

municipality to employ aquaculture filtra- 

tion. At the request of city officials, SSC 

fenced off part of the town's 40-acre waste- 

water lagoon and planted water hyacinths. 

The plants flourished on a feast of sewage 

and in short order the once noxious lagoon 

became a dean aquatic garden. 

SSC continues to work toward the pri- 

mary goal of natural purification for space 

applications, but it is also engaged in assist- 

ing communities interested in aquaculture as 

part of NASA's Technology Utilization Pro- 

gram, which seeks to expand spinoff applica- 

tions of NASA-developed technology. After 

the Bay St. Louis demonstration, SSC pub- 

lished a report of its work that attracted 

broad attention and inspired other commum- 

ties to investigate aquaculture. Today, a 

number of southern U.S. towns, with popu- 

lations ranging from 2,000 to 15,000, em- 

ploy aquaculture as their year-round primary 

method of treating wastewater. Other towns 

--and one major city, San Diego-use aqua- 

culture as a supplementary process in sewage 

treatment applications. 

Because municipalities all over the nation 

are of necessity tightening their budgets, 

interest in the potential cost reductions af- 

forded by aquaculture wastewater treatment 

is growing. And SSC's new aquatic plant/ 

microbial filter process will allow a broader 

range of communities to take advantage of 

the technology. In fact, that is one reason 

why it was developed. 

(Continued) 

At Haughton, Louisiana, town of- 

ficials installed a second-genera- 

tion version of NASA's natural 

wastewater treatment system. 

This one employs a combination 

of sewage-digesting microbes liv- 

ing in a gravel bed and pollutant- 

absorbing plants-bulrushes in 

foreground and canna lilies in 

background.

Wastewater Treatment: The Natural Way (Continued) 

In this windowless, highly insu- 

lated facility, Stennis Space Cen- 

ter (SSC) is investigating the 

potential of natural air/water puri- 

fication systems-plants-for fa- 

cilities with reduced ventilation, 

such as space stations and 

energy-efficient homes/offices. 

94 Environment 

Water hyacinths are almost the ideal nat- 

ural wastewater purification system. This 

free-floating freshwater plant grows prolifi- 

cally, digests enormous amounts of pollutants 

and, in Earth applications, offers cost-effec- 

tive sewage treatment with potential byprod- 

uct bonuses. 

But for water reclamation and recycling in 

future spacecraft or space stations, the hya- 

cinth's utility is limited. In dosed environ- 

ment facilities such as manned spacecraft, 

there must be a better means of removing 

potentially toxic chemicals from redaimed 

water. SSC's extensive research pointed to 

the plant/microbial filter as a more effective 

technique for in-space wastewater treatment, 

toxic chemical removal and water reuse. 

For Earth applications, the water hyacinth 

is similarly limited. It is a warm climate 

plant, not suitable for practical use in north- 

em latitudes except with greenhouse protec- 

tion, which reduces cost-effectiveness and is 

not always effective. ALL operating aquacul- 

ture systems are in the southern U.S. 

However, the types of plants used in the 

artificial marsh system-bulrush, reed, soft 

rush, cattail, canna lilies and others-are cold 

and salt-tolerant, thus usable in wastewater 

systems in colder climates. The first commu- 

nity demonstration of that potential is under- 

way in Monterey, Virginia. 

Monterey, population 249, is technically a 

southern town but it is perched in a high 

valley of the Allegheny Mountains at 3,000 

feet, thus has colder than average winter 

temperatures. Monterey creates no significant 

pollution, but like all U.S. municipalities was 

required by the federal Clean Air Act to pro- 

vide secondary sewage treatment by July 1, 

1988. The estimated cost for a conventional 

facility was $500,000, far beyond the means 

of the town's 149 sewer users. 

Looking for an alternative, Monterey 

contacted SSC's Dr. Bill Wolverton and 

learned of aquaculture. Initially, it was 

thought that a water hyacinth lagoon, pro- 

tected by a greenhouse cover, would serve 

Monterey's purposes. But after a summer's 

test of a hyacinth pond met with limited 

success, Wolverton recommended the still- 

new plant/microbial filter. 

After much study and discussion with 

NASA participation, the Virginia Health 

Department and State Water Control Board 

approved experimental operation of the arti- 

ficial marsh and Monterey won an extension 

of the deadline for compliance. Conversion of 

the hyacinth pond to a plant/microbial filter 

system got under way in 1988 and the town 

expects its system to be fully operational by 

1993. Monterey Mayor George E. 

McWhorter Jr. thanked NASA for the work 

done by Wolverton and SSC, adding that

the technology "will enable the Town of 

Monterey and many other municipalities 

with the same problems to meet mandated 

standards at a cost far less than convention- 

ally accepted methods." 

Meanwhile, Wolvenon's work has pro- 

duced another spinoff technique, this one for 

purifying air as well as water in indoor envi- 

ronments. A substantial air pollution prob- 

lem exists when ventilation is significantly 

reduced, as in pressurized long-duration 

spacecraft or highly insulated Earth build- 

ings. In an effort to develop a practical 

means of preventing buildup of gaseous toxic 

substances in space stations or in airtight 

homes and office buildings, SSC is again 

evaluating the natural approach-in this case 

the use of common houseplants as air 

cleaners. 

The potential health hazard in energy effi- 

cient homes stems from reduced ventilation 

and increasing use of resins and solvents in 

modem construction; they cause an increase 

in such indoor air pollutants as formalde- 

hyde. Additionally, combustion of fossil fuels 

-as in cooking-and tobacco elevates home 

and office levels of carbon monoxide and 

nitrogen dioxide. 

Branching off from its research on aquatic 

plants for wastewater treatment, SSC studied 

the use of foliage plants for air filtration and 

purification. The common spider plant was 

found to be particularly efficient in absorbing 

formaldehyde, nitrogen dioxide and carbon 

monoxide; other plants showed potential. 

At a special facility at SSC, Wolverton's 

environmental research group is testing a 

number of plant types and developing con- 

cepts for Earth-use natural air purification 

systems. Commercial businesses are watching 

the effort and independently looking into 

ways of combining natural and mechanical 

filter systems to remove both particulate and 

gaseous indoor pollutants; two companies are 

now selling filter systems. r 

The spider plant is one of several 

decorative houseplants that show 

promise for absorbing gaseous 

pollutants to clean indoor air. 

A penthouse green garden serves 

as a natural purification system 

for "atmospheric revitalization" of 

an office building in this SSC 

concept. Efficient insulation de- 

signed to save energy may cause 

a health hazard in buildup of po- 

tentially toxic gases; a recycling 

system channels all indoor air 

through the garden, which 

absorbs the gaseous pollutants 

and returns clean air to the 

offices. 

Environment 95

Surveying System 

A 

t right, Chuck Muncy 

and Werner Bmtsch 

of Sunrise Geodetic 

Surveys, Mesa, Arizona, are 

setting up their equipment 

for a town survey. Their 

equipment, however, differs 

from conventional surveying 

systems that employ transit, 

rod and chain to measure 

angles and distances. They 

are using the ISTAC Model 

2002 positioning system, 

which offers fast, accurate 

surveying with exceptional 

orders of accuracy, obtained 

by processing signals from 

orbiting satellites. 

Below, and at right, Sunrise 

employees are surveying 

a remote area for placement 

of microwave towers. This illustrates 

a particular advantage 

of the ISTAC Model 

2002. In mountainous terrain 

or in areas of dense 

vegetation, the surveying 

team would normally have a 

long and difficult job clearing 

the line of sight pathways 

between two siting 

points that are essential for 

operating conventional systems. 

The 70-pound ISTAC 

system can easily be backpacked 

or helicopter-transported 

into remote locations 

and its only requirement is 

a line of sight to the sky. 

Satellite-referenced position- 

96 Environment 

----- 

ing data is stored on site in a 

portable data recorder and 

later downloaded into the of- 

fice computer for analysis 

(far right). 

The ISTAC Model 2002 

is manufactured by ISTAC, 

Inc., Pasadena, California, 

and sold or leased to survey- 

ing companies. It is based on 

technology developed by 

California Institute of Tech- 

nology's Jet Propulsion Lab- 

oratory under NASA spon- 

sorship. Inventor of the 

technology was Peter 

MacDoran, now president of 

ISTAC. 

Working on a way to pro- 

vide highly precise measure- 

ments of Earth's crust for 

tectonic studies and earth- 

quake prediction, MacDoran 

conceived SERIES, a package 

consisting of satellite receiv- 

ing hardware and signal 

processing software that pro- 

duces positioning data with 

accuracies as fine as five 

centimeters (two inches). 

MacDoran was subsequently 

granted a NASA waiver 

assigning him commercial 

rights to the technology. He 

formed ISTAC to develop 

the technology further and 

adapt it as a surveying tool 

using reference signals from 

the U.S. Air Force Navstar 

Global Positioning System 

(GPS). 

The Navstar GPS is a 

network of navigation satellites 

intended to provide 

superaccurate position fixes 

for military aircraft, ships or 

land vehicles anywhere on 

Earth. It is currently operat- 

ing as an interim, part-time 

Block I system for testing 

and user familiarization; 

civilians are authorized to 

use the Block I system. 

Beginning next year, the 

USAF will begin to replace 

the Block I satellites with 

more advanced Block I1 

Navstars in what will ulti- 

mately be an 2 1-satellite 

constellation. However, the 

advent of Block I1 will pose 

a problem for civilian users. 

The Block I1 Navstars will 

send signals on two channels, 

the superaccurate Precise Po- 

sitioning Service (PPS) and a 

less accurate Standard Po- 

sitioning Service (SPS). For 

reasons of military security, 

PPS signals will be encrypted 

and the code will not be 

available to civilian users ex- 

cept by special approval of 

the Department of Defense. 

The SPS channel will be 

available to civil users, but 

its accuracy will be intention- 

ally degraded. 

The special utility of the 

ISTAC Model 2002 is that 

it can provide positioning of 

the highest accuracy from 

Navstar PPS signals because 

it requires no knowledge of 

the secret codes. It operates 

by comparing the frequency 

and time phase of a Navstar 

signal arriving at one ISTAC 

receiver with the reception of 

the same set of signals by 

another receiver. The data is 

computer processed and 

translated into three dimen- 

sional position data-lati- 

tude, longitude and eleva- 

tion. This technique d i not

compromise military security 

and is, in fact, welcomed as 

a viable means of civil use of 

the GPS. 

The ability of ISTAC 

Model 2002 and other code- 

less receivers to use the mili- 

tary network opens up a 

broad range of civil applica- 

tions. ISTAC Model 2002 is 

used by a number of survey- 

ing firms in the U.S. and the 

United Kingdom for city 

surveys, construction surveys, 

and geodetic surveying. 

A funue application 

(when 24-hour global satel- 

lite coverage is available), 

is seismic surveying for 

exploration of hydrocarbon 

resources. ISTAC receivers- 

one on the seismic ship, one 

on a trailing buoy and one 

on land--can acquire posi- 

tion data from four different 

Navstar satellites; positioning 

computations are handled by 

a computer aboard the seis- 

mic vessel. A

Forest Damage Assessment 

A 

t right, scientist 

Nancy Defeo of the 

University of New 

Hampshire's Institute for the 

Study of Earth, Oceans and 

Space (EOS) is processing 

Landsat Thematic Mapper 

data as part of an investigation 

to determine the efficacy 

of satellite information in detecting 

forest dedine damage 

which may be due to acid 

rain or other atmospheric 

pollutants. 

Defeo is part of a vegetation 

remote sensing group 

that has been investigating 

the matter for several years 

under the sponsorship of 

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory 

(JPL). The research 

is headed by Dr. Barrett 

Rock (center), former leader 

of JPL's Geobotanical Remote 

Sensing Group, now 

with EOS. 

The Thematic Mapper 

(TM), developed by Hughes 

Airaaft under NASA contract, 

is an advanced scanning 

instrument aboard 

Landsats 4 and 5, which 

I were initially developed by 

I 

NASA and are now operated 

as a commercial remote sens- 

ing system. The TM detects 

radiations reflected and emit- 

ted from Earth objects- 

such as trees-in seven 

bands of the spectrum. Since 

each object has its own 

unique spectral "signature," 

the TM can distinguish 

among surface features and 

generate computer-processed 

imagery identifying specific 

r - 

features of importance to resources 

managers. 

Since the early 1960s, the 

high-elevation spruce/fir 

forests of the northeastern 

United States have undergone 

a marked decline in 

growth rate and state of 

health. During the same period, 

there has been similar 

decline in central European 

forests of spruce, fir and 

beech. Remote sensing satel- 

lites are capable of detecting, 

identifying and quantifying 

forest decline to make possi- 

ble forest monitoring and 

assessment on a global scale. 

Advanced satellite instru- 

mentation planned for the 

1990s may even be able to 

identify spectral "finger- 

prints" that would enable 

investigators to identify spe- 

cific causes of forest damage 

and dedine. Scientists at 

EOS are trying to demon- 

strate how accurate satellite 

observations may be in de- 

tecting specific levels of 

forest damage. 

Toward this goal, Dr. 

Rock's NASA group has 

conducted multiyear forest 

dedine investigations using 

satellite and aircraft-acquired 

imagery. This work was 

coordinated with "ground 

truth" field investigations to 

check the accuracy of scanner 

data. 

The NASA group, which 

included Dr. James E. 

Vogelmann (EOS), Dr. Ann 

F. Vogelrnann (EOS), 

Takashi Hoshizaki (JPL), 

and Darrell L. Williams of 

Goddard Space Flight Cen- 

ter, has conducted research 

on New York's Adirondack 

Mountains, the Green 

Mountains of Vermont and 

the White Mountains of 

New Hampshire. In addi- 

tion, Dr. Rock's group and 

scientists from North Caro-

lina State University have 

conducted a joint study, 

sponsored by the U.S. Forest 

Service, to assess forest de- 

cline damage on Mt. Mitch- 

ell in North Carolina. 

Shown above is a TM 

damage assessment image of 

Mt. Mitchell; the green areas 

are healthy conifer (ever- 

green) and hardwood 

(broadleaf) trees, yellow 

shows moderate damage, or- 

ange severe damage. At up- 

per right, the same image 

has been computer manipu- 

lated to help identify specific 

problems; here blue repre- 

sents healthy trees and the 

other colors show increasing 

levels of damage in yellow, 

orange and white. At right, 

a group is conducting a 

ground truth check of a 

white-colored (highly dam- 

aged) area identified in the 

image. At far right, some of 

the researchers compare 

notes, left to right, Nancy 

Defeo, Barrett Rock and 

James Vogelmann. 

The group's research has 

I 

can be used accurately and 

efficiently to detect, quantify, 

map and monitor areas of 

forest damage on a regional 

scale." 

Satellite imagery has been 

incorporated into the U.S. 

Forest Service's routine damage 

assessment fieldwork in 

the southeastern United 

States to further check the 

accuracy of satellite damage 

assessment imagery and to 

been "very encouraging. " acquaint foresters with the 

The levels and distribution use and potential of such 

of forest damage detected imagery. A 

using satellite and aircraft 

imagery comesponded very 

well with conventional 

ground-based measurements 

of forest health. "We are 

now confident," said Dr. 

Rock, "that satellite imagery

1 

Environment Monitor 

I 

n 1976, two NASA 

Viking Landers touched 

down on the surface of 

Mars, equipped with a vari- 

I ety of systems to conduct 

I automated research. Among 

this equipment, each Lander 

sophisticated instrument for 

analyzing the Martian soil 

and atmosphere. 

NASA requirements dic- 

tated that the instrument- 

called a Gas Chromato- 

graph/Mass Spectrometer 

(GC/MS) and developed by 

Jet Propulsion Laboratory- 

be small, lightweight, shock 

resistant, highly automated 

and extremely sensitive, yet 

require minimal electrical 

power. These same charac- 

teristics offer wide utility in 

Earth applications. 

In 1983, Dr. Thomas J. 

Kuehn and Dr. Russell C. 

Drew, both of whom have 

extensive experience in R&D 

management, founded Vi- 

king Instruments Corpora- 

tion, Sterling, Virginia to 

commercialize the GC/MS 

technology under an exclu- 

sive license from NASA. 

They targeted as their pri- 

mary market environmental 

monitoring, espeually toxic 

and hazardous waste site 

monitoring. Waste sites of- 

ten contain chemicals in 

complex mixtures and the 

conventional method of site 

characterization-taking 

samples on-site and sending 

them to a laboratory for 

analysis-is time-consuming 

and expensive. Viking In- 

struments sees wide accep- 

tance of its Micro GC/MS 

products (left below) because 

they combine the power and 

sensitivity of a laboratory 

GCMS in a portable, valise- 

sized package. The first 

prototype instruments were 

completed in 1987 and Vi- 

king expects to have com- 

mercial production proto- 

types in 1988. 

Among other terrestrial 

applications are explosives 

detection at airports, drug 

detection, industrial air mon- 

itoring, medical metabolic 

monitoring and, for the mili- 

tary services, detection of 

chemical warfare agents. 

Viking is also planning to 

develop the technology fut- 

ther for new space applica- 

tions aboard the Space Sta- 

tion, for example, chemical 

analysis of experiments or 

monitoring crew compart- that would continuously 

ment atmospheres for sample air at multiple 

contaminants. points, analyze it and warn 

In the top photo, Dr. of contaminants. A 

Kuehn, Viking executive 

vice president, is using a lab- 

oratory high vacuum system 

to check out the ion source, 

a key component of the 

GCMS. In the lower photo, 

Dr. Drew, president, stands 

beside a larger Viking indus- 

trial plant monitoring system

Marine Life Study 

A 

s 

ing and other pollu- 

a result of wide- 

spread ocean dump- 

tion problems, marine 

scientists are studying the 

populations of various ma- 

rine organisms in an attempt 

! to determine the &ec*s of 

pollution. Marine biologists, 

ecologists and fishing indus- 

try investigators are compil- 

ing data on aging of marine 

organisms, including such 

factors as the relationship be- 

tween the size and age of the 

organism, its longevity, its 

rate of growth and growth 

diffkrences among species. 

These factors hold dues 

to many questions of 

importance. 

Of parti& interest because 

of its great economic 

value is the surf dam that 

inhabits the U.S. Ahtic 

Coast. There exists a method 

of determining the age of 

the surf clam: examining 

photographic blowups of a 

section of the dam that contains 

annual rings or growth 

bands, like a tree. Though 

useful, this technique has 

shortcomings, among them 

difficulty in finding the often 

faint initial ring and difficulty 

in getting an accurate 

count in older clams, whose 

rings become aowded and 

run together. 

I 

Professor Ernest G. 

Hammond and a group of 

students at Morgan State 

University, Baltimore, Mary- 

land, in cooperation with 

Goddard Space Flight Cen- 

ter, have been conducting 

research for several years 

on a way to apply space 

developed digital image pro- 

cessing techniques to age 

determination in dams. 

Digital image processing 

is the use of computers to 

convert sensor data into in- 

formative images. The idea 

of applying it to dam-aging 

investigations came from 

Kevin Peters, a Morgan State 

graduate student who is 

shown in the accompanying 

photograph viewing a high 

resolution dam image on a 

monitor. The Morgan State/ 

Goddard technique involved 

development of a computer 

program to create digitized 

images of dam sections with 

annual rings. The computer- 

ized image can then be 

enhanced-manipulated to 

emphasize certain features- 

in order to improve and 

amplify the information that 

can be extracted from the 

image. 

A lengthy series of tests 

established that the tech- 

nique offers a number of ad- 

vantages in aging studies not 

only of dams but of other 

shellfish and marine organ- 

isms that have growth 

bands. Among these advan- 

tages, with respect to dam 

studies, are greater contrast 

between each annual ring, 

making it easier to get an 

accurate count, dearer delin- 

eation of the initial ring and 

the ability to aeate adequate 

separation of the aowded 

ring areas of older clams by 

enhancing and enlarging the 

image. The technique also 

showed promise for being 

able to reveal information re- 

garding the rate of the or- 

ganism's growth during sea- 

sonal and environmental 

changes that the organism 

undergoes. A

Space Age Archeology 

I 

n 1954, archeologists discovered 

two subterranean 

chambers carved in the 

bedrock near the Great 

Pyramid of Khufu in Giza, 

Egypt. Excavation of one of 

them uncovered an exciting 

: 

$ find: the disassembled pieces 

of a wooden funerary boat 

apparently intended for Pharaoh 

Khufu's use in the afterlife. 

Incredibly, the boat's 

timbers were in a near-perfect 

state of preservation after 

4,600 years. The boat was 

painstakingly assembled and 

put on display (right) in a 

museum built on the site. 

Egyptologists wondered 

for years whether the second 

chamber, roofed by a fivefoot 

thickness of limestone, 

contained another royal 

boat-and whether the air 

sealed in the chamber for 46 

centuries had some property 

that helped preserve the 

wood of the boat, because 

the original boat was showing 

signs of deterioration and 

information on the chamber's 

environment might 

lead to a way of preserving 

it longer. 

In 1985, the Egyptian 

Antiquities Organization 

(EAO) asked Dr. Farouk 

El-Baz whether it would be 

possible to examine and 

sample the second chamber 

without admitting people, 

air or contaminants. El-Baz, 

an Egyptian-born geologist, 

felt it could by applying 

space technology to the task; 

he was thoroughly familiar 

with a number of space tech- 

nologies as a one-time lunar 

science planner on the Apollo 

program and, more recently, 

as director of the Boston 

University Center for 

Remote Sensing, Boston, 

Massachusetts. 

The initial contact led to a 

two-year project in which El- 

Baz organized and headed a 

team, co-sponsored by EAO 

and the National Geographic 

Society, to apply space tech- 

nology in an effort to exarn- 

ine and photograph the Giza 

chamber. National Geo- 

graphic had for a number of 

years been investigating 

means of photographing un- 

opened tombs without enter- 

ing or contaminating them. 

In Washington, D.C., the 

Geographic's photographic 

division modified and tested 

a remotely controlled video 

system and a 35-millimeter 

camera, and developed a 

lighting system that would 

not elevate the chamber 

temperature; the team estab- 

lished that all this equip- 

ment would work if it could 

successfully be inserted into 

the chamber. 

That left two big require- 

ments: a drill to cut through 

the limestone cap without 

using lubricants or cooling 

fluids that might contami- 

nate the chamber, and an 

airlock that would admit the 

drill shaft and photo equip- 

ment but not air. For this 

job, El-Baz brought to the 

team Bob Moores, a drilling 

technology engineer with 

Black & Decker Corporation, 

Towson, Maryland, which 

had developed for NASA in 

the 1960s a drill capable of 

boring 10 feet into the 

moon's surface and extract- 

ing soil samples without 

contamination. Moores used 

much of this knowledge to 

select a new drill tailored to 

the Giza exploration. 

In October 1987, work 

began at the site, shown at 

upper right. In the fore- 

ground, from left are Farouk 

El-Baz, EAO's Dr. Karnal 

Barakat, and work aew fore- 

man Touhamy Mahmoud 

Ali. The drill pit, evidenced 

by the scaffolding, is in cen- 

ter background; the tent at 

right housed the electronic 

equipment for operating the 

cameras and viewing their 

findings.

At 

For 48 hours off and on, 

Moores drilled through the 

limestone until, at a depth of 

63 inches, the drill bit broke 

through into the chamber. 

At lower left, El-Baz, holding 

the drill shaft, grins triumphantly 

after the breakthrough; 

in red is engineer 

Bob Moores. At right, the 

science and support teams 

assemble in the drill pit for a 

odidy monitor chamber 

temperature and humidity 

indefinitely. 

The space technology that 

made possible unviolated 

inspection of the Giza charnber 

has wide applicability in 

other archeological investigations 

and Dr. Farouk El-Baz 

is looking into additional 

space technologies that 

might be used in archeologi- - 

victory photo. cal applications. 

A stainless steel tube was "In the past," he says, 

lowered through the airlock "some archeological work 

to take samples of the cham- was blind. Where to dig and 

ber air at several levels. But how to approach a site was 

there was disappointment- pretty much left to chance. 

even before the samples were From now on, any archeo- 

scientifically analyzed at lab- logical excavation can be 

oratories, there were indica- based on a tremendous 

tions that the chamber was amount of information by 

no longer airtight if ever it using our technology and 

had been. methodology." A 

But on the morning of 

October 20 there came a 

compensating discovery 

when the video camera 

started sending images from 

the chamber: there was in- 

deed a second royal boat, 

disassembled like the first in 

stacks of wooden panels, 

planks and oars. 

The watching team mem- 

bers were the first to view 

the boat since the 26th cen- 

tury B.C. And the last, for a 

while. It had been decided 

to leave the chamber intact. 

So, after six days of record- 

ing the chamber's contents 

on film and tape, the team 

removed the airlock and re- 

placed it with a seal fitted 

with sensors that would peri-

Water Filters 

T 

he black cylinder at 

right is an Aquaspace@ 

industrial filter used 

by a pharmaceutical company 

to ensure the purity of 

the water it uses. It is one of 

a line of fdtration products 

manufactured by Western 

Water International (WWI), 

Forestville, Maryland. Below, 

company founder and president 

Paul M. "Mike" 

Pedersen is shown in 

WWI's laboratory sampling 

water filtered by a WWI 

system. 

Aquaspace filters combine 

company technology with 

NASA technology developed 

to sterilize the drinking water 

of the Apollo spacecraft. 

The filters provide dear, 

good tasting water by removing 

toxic contaminants, 

organic chemical compounds, 

chlorine and other 

water processing agents, 

unpleasant taste, color and 

odor. 

The key is Aquaspace 

Compound, a proprietary 

WWI formula that scientifically 

blends various types of 

glandular activated charcoal 

with other active and inert 

ingredients. The filtration 

material is shown at top 

center around the base of a 

typical filter system. 

Aquaspace systems remove 

some substanceschlorine, 

for example-by 

atomic adsorption, other 

types of organic chemicals by 

mechanical filtration, and 

still other substances by 

catalytic reaction. 

Seeking to find a more 

effective method of fdtering 

potable water that was 

highly contaminated, 

Pedersen learned that NASA 

had conducted extensive re- 

search in methods of purify- 

ing water on board manned 

spacecraft. He obtained a 

number of NASA technical 

reports concerning that re- 

search. NASA information 

that contributed importantly 

to the development of 

Aquaspace Compound, 

Pedersen states, included 

technology related to the use 

of ions as filtering agents and 

methods dealing with the 

absorption and adsorption of 

organic compounds. 

Aquaspace filters are h d- 

ing wide acceptance in in- 

dustrial, commercial, resi- 

dential and reaeational 

applications in the U.S. and 

abroad. WWI produces a 

wide range of systems to 

meet these various needs, 

from a simple Apollo Pocket 

Filter that works like a

drinking straw to high 

capacity units for communi- 

ties in developing nations 

where the water is highly 

contaminated. 

Examples include the 

Voyagd 6lter for camping 

and traveling use (left); the 

Aquaspace Counter Top Fi- 

ter (below); and the Aquar- 

ius Udet-the-Sink Filter 

(right). At right below is a 

whole-house unit installed in 

a laundry room. A special 

advantage of whole-house 

f~ltration in contaminated 

water areas is protection 

from diseases that occur 

through topid absorption of 

contaminants through the 

skin and through inhala- 

tion. A 

@Aquaspace and Voyager are registered 

d-ks of Western water Illtenla- 

tional Inc

Document Monitor 

riginally developed to 

create pictures of 

solar system planets 

and moons, NASA imaging 

technology has found em- 

ployment in such diverse ar- 

eas as medical diagnosis and 

monitoring, Estrth resources 

survey by remote sensing 

and quality control in indus- 

trial operations. Its &her 

utility is being investigated 

in a variety of other applica- 

tions and image processing 

technology shows promise of 

becoming one of the most 

prolific sources of spinoff. 

A unique application is a 

combined hardware/sohare 

system called the Charters of 

Freedom Monitoring System, 

which will periodically assess 

the physical condition of the 

U.S. Constitution, the Dec- 

laration of Independence and 

the Bill of Rights. Although 

protected in helium-filled 

glass casings, the documents 

are subject to damage from 

light, vibration and humid- 

ity, their parchment pages 

may stretch or split, and ink 

may fade, flake or wear off. 

The job of the monitoring 

system is to image the docu- 

ments precisely at selected 

times, then compare each 

new image to detect as early 

as possible any change in the 

characteristics of the ink or 

I 

parchment. That will allow 

National Archives conservators 

to plan action to halt 

the deterioration. 

The project began in 

1982 when the National Archives 

retained NASA's Jet 

Propulsion Laboratory UPL) 

to develop a systematic 

method of determining the 

condition of national archives. 

JPL conducted studies 

of concepts based on 

space imaging technology, in 

particular a charge-coupled 

device (CCD) that had been 

employed in a number of 

imaging spacecraft, including 

the new Galileo Jupiter I 

explorer and the-~ibble 

Space Telescope. JPL asked 

The Perkin-Elmer Corporation, 

Norwalk, Connecticut, 

optical systems prime con- 

I 

uactor for the Hubble Space 

Telescope, to apply its optical 

expertise to development 

of a precise photometer and 

to integrate it into a complete 

document monitoring 

system. Perkin-Elmer began 

work in 1984 and delivered 

I 

the system to the National 

Archives in 1987. 

The photometer is a 

CCD detector used as the 

electronic "film" for the 

system's scanning camera, 

which mechanically scans the 

document line by line and 

acquires a series of images, 

each representing a one 

square inch portion of the 

document. The photometer 

I

i 

is capable of detecting 

changes in conuast, shape or 

other indicators of degradation 

with five to 10 times 

the sensitivity of the human 

eye. A Vicom image processing 

computer receives the 

data from the photometer, 

stores and manipulates it, 

allowing comparison of electronic 

images over time to 

detect changes. 

The complete monitoring 

system is shown at upper 

left. Next to it is a doseup 

of the camera and a 

radiometeric reflectance 

target, used to calibrate the 

photometer's illumination, a 

green light that provides the 

essential contrast and does 

not damage the parchment. 

The exact intensity of the 

light is carefully established 

so that it can be precisely 

duplicated in every future 

scanning. 

In the center is the system 

in operation in a darkroom 

environment. Above is a 

false color image, a segment 

of the Constitution that 

shows (in the red areas) signs 

of ink flaking that possibly 

occurred before the document 

was encased in its protective 

shield. Below are two 

supporting units: the taller 

one is the electronics rack 

that converts analog data to 

digital and controls the light 

sources, shutter and CCD, 

the other is an Anorad Auto- 

matic I11 system for 

positioning the photometer 

over the document. 

The latter, along with the 

Vicom computer, is among 

several commercially avail- 

able components integrated 

into the system to minimize 

cost and maintainability. 

Perkin-Elmer also devel- 

oped user friendly software 

in accordance with JPL's re- 

quirement that people with- 

out image processing uain- 

ing be able to operate the 

system. The Charters of 

Freedom Monitoring System 

was designed to be main- 

tainable for at least 50 years. 

Precise control of illurnina- 

tion, positioning, vibration 

and temperature ensure the 

repeatability of each image, 

so that conservators can as- 

sume with confidence that 

changes detected are actually 

changes in the document 

and not in the system. A

Farmland Suwey 

B 

elow is a Florida scene 

representative of a national 

situation: visible 

in the background is a fairsized 

community on what 

was recently highly productive 

farmland. A 1981 U.S. 

Department of Agriculture 

(USDA) study estimated 

that the nation is converting 

farmland to non-agricultural 

uses at the rate of 3 million 

aaes a year. 

Seeking reliable information 

on farmland loss in 

Florida, the state legislature-in 

19844ected 

establishment of a program 

for development of accurate 

data to enable intelligent 

legislation of state growth 

management. Thus was born 

Florida's massive Mapping 

and Monitoring of Agricultural 

Lands Project 

(MMALP), which was to 

employ data from the 

NASA-developed Landsat 

Earth resources survey satel- 

, lite system as a quicker, less 

L expensive alternative to 

ground surveying. 

The three year project in- 

volved inventory of Florida's 

36 million aaes and county- 

by-county tabulation of the 

aaeage in each land cover 

classification, such as aop- 

land, pastureland, citrus, 

woodland, wetland, water 

and populated areas. Direc- 

tion of the project was as- 

signed to the Florida Depart- 

ment of Community Affairs 

(DCA), with assistance from 

the Department of Transpor- 

tation' (DOT), which had 

expertise in satellite remote 

sensing operations. As 

MMALP project director, 

DCA assigned Robert Groce, 

a resource conservationist on 

loan from the USDA Soil 

Conservation Service. At 

right above, Groce (stand- 

ing) is comparing notes with 

Florida DOT remote sensing 

specialist Jesse Day. 

The utility of the Landsat 

system for land cover survey 

stems from the fact that each 

type of land cover emits or 

reflects a unique type of ra- 

diation that can be detected 

and differentiated by 

Landsat's sensors. Computer 

processing of Landsat data at 

ground facilities enables ae- 

ation of electronic imagery or 

tapes from which informa- 

tive resource maps can be 

prepared. An example of an 

MMALP image is shown be- 

low; here pastureland is 

highlighted in red and the 

other colors represent crop- ' 

land, woodland and devel- 

oped areas. At right center, 

DOT remote sensing special- 

ist Khaleda Hatim is using 

such Landsat imagery to pre- 

pare a land cover dassifica- 

tion map of a segment of 

Florida. Maps like these, 

covering all of the state's 67 

counties, were prepared with 

1984 data, and those maps 

were compared with another 

set of maps for the same 

areas developed with 1973 

Landsat data, thus providing 

a graphic comparison of the 

land cover changes that had 

occurred over the 1 1-year 

span. 

Early in the project, Groce 

decided that combining soil 

data with the Landsat land 

cover data would make 

available to land use planners

a more comprehensive view 

of a county's land potential. 

He obtained the cooperation 

of the USDA Soil Consema- 

tion Service, which agreed to 

digitize-and pay f o r 4 

Surveys for two counties, 

wirh data for the other coun- 

ties to come later. At upper 

right, MMALP soil scientist 

Susoin Ploetz is preparing an 

overlay that incorporates 

USDA soil data. Addition of 

dam on soil types and 

characteristics allows farmers 

and state officials to deter- 

mine whether a particular 

block of land has prime agri- 

cultural soil and what types 

of uops might be grown 

there; it also gives developers 

an overview of areas with 

land characteristics best 

suited to the needs of a 

planned development. 

To verify the data going 

into the land cover maps, 

both USDA soil data and 

Landsat sensor data, the 

MMALP group made fre- 

quent "ground truth'" tests 

(below). This involved tak- 

ing actual soil samples at a 

particular site or visually 

checking the vegetation to 

make sure the computer 

processed information was 

accurate. The information 

proved accurate. 

, . In July 1987, Florida's 

DCA completed the 

MMALP project and later in 

the year submitted a report 

to the state legislature. It 

showed the agricultural land 

acreage for each county as of 

1973 and 1984 and the per- 

centage of loss of agricultural 

land over that span. The to- 

tal farmland lost to non-agri- 

cultural developments was 

1,683,986 acres, or 5.6 per- 

cent. This was substantially 

less than had been estimated 

in other assessments made 

prior to MMALl? However, 

some counties showed sig- 

nificant losses and they will 

have to be monitored. 

The report also detailed 

the acreage in each of 2 1 

land cover classifications as 

of 1984. The agricultural 

land and total cover informa- 

tion, eventually to be supple- 

mented by all-state soil data, 

built a comprehensive com- 

puterized data base that pro- 

vides Florida officials an im- 

portant planning tool. This 

was the first effort to use 

Landsat data for mapping an 

entire state and, says project 

director Robert Groce, "Ev- 

eryone seems to be satisfied 

with the process and with 

the results."~

Fishing Forecasts 

t right, Captain Jerry 

Coleman of the Florida 

Keys based charter 

fishing boat Paradhe is 

looking over a ROFFS chart 

that offers advice as to steering 

dents to where the fish 

are-and hopefuly sooner 

than the competition. 

ROFFS stands for Roffer's 

Ocean Fishing Forecasting 

Service, Inc., Miami, Florida. 

It is operated by oceanographer 

Dr. Mitchell Roffer, 

who describes it as a high 

technology small business 

providing fish-location assistance 

to commercial, reueational 

and professional tournament 

fishermen. Roffer 

combines satellite and computer 

technology with oceanographic 

information from 

several sources to produce 

frequently updated chartssometimes 

as often as 30 

times a day-showing dues 

to the location of marlin, 

sailfish, tuna, swordfish and 

a variety of other types. He 

also provides customized 

ROFFS forecasts for racing - 

I boats and the shipping in- 

I dustrv. alonn with seasonal 

forecasts that allow the ma- 

rine industry to formulate 

fishing strategies based on 

foreknowledge of the arrival 

and deparnue times of dif- 

ferent migratory fish. 

Fish are somewhat pre- 

dictable, says Roffer. From 

research conducted over his 

10 years with the University 

of Miami's Rosenstiel School 

for Marine and Atmospheric 

Science, he concluded that 

specific ocean conditions- 

such as temperature gradi- 

ents, the color and biological 

quality of the water, or 

movements of ocean cur- 

rents-influence the where- 

abouts of fish concentrations. 

But as ocean conditions 

change, the fishes' "preferred 

habitats" change, thus the 

need for frequently updated 

forecasts. 

ROFFS provides what are 

essentially customized fisher- 

ies oceanographic maps over- 

laid on nautical charts. The 

service, says Roffer, offers 

marine operators greater pro- 

ductivity, decreased operat- 

ing expenses and larger prof- 

its. A lot of people seem to 

agree; ROFFS customers, 

serviced by facsimile systems, 

telephone coded messages, 

computer-based electronic 

mail or marine radio, stretch 

from Canada to the Gulf 

Coast, from the Caribbean 

down to South America. 

Above, Roffer (in red) 

and an assistant are incorpo- 

rating satellite imagery into a 

ROFFS chart. A portion of 

the completed chart is shown 

at right; it shows oceano- 

graphic information along 

with predictions of where

aitfish, tuna and marlin 

will be during the following 

24-36 hours. 

The ROFFS service exem- 

plifies the potential for bene- 

fit to marine industries from 

satellite observations of the 

oceans. NASA is developing 

technology toward a possible 

ocean monitoring system of 

the 1990s that would offer 

such broad benefits as ma- 

rine weather and dimate 

prediction, maritime safety, 

improved ship design and 

ship routing techniques, and, 

of course, an information ser- 

vice for directing fishermen 

to most productive waters. 

As a preliminary, NASA 

conducted a mid-1980s 

Fisheries Demonstration Pro- 

gram, a research/technology 

transfer effort by Jet Propul- 

sion Laboratory in coopera- 

tion with the National Oce- 

anic and Atmospheric 

Administration (NOAA), 

the U.S. Navy and Coast 

Guard, Scripps Institution of 

Oceanography, and the 

Western Fishing Boat Own- 

ers Association, San Diego, 

California. 

The program employed 

ocean surface data from 

ships and buoys, plus data 

from satellites-including 

NASA's specially 

instrumented Nimbus 7- 

and meteorological satellites 

operated by NOM and the 

Department of Defense-to 

create "fisheries aid" charts. 

The charts incorporated a 

broad set of ocean observa- 

tions, including data pro- 

vided by Nimbus 7 on 

"color breaks," areas of 

sharp changes in ocean color 

usually associated with fish 

concentrations. The charts 

were broadcast daily to 35 

participating fishermen 

whose boats were equipped 

with radio-facsimile recorders 

such as the one shown 

above. 

The program successfully 

demonstrated that satellite 

data, in particular ocean 

color delineation, combined 

with surface acquired data, 

can help commercial fisher- 

men select strategies for 

more efficient and more eco- 

nomical operations. Among 

participating fishermen, the 

most notable results reported 

were reduced search time 

and substantial fuel sav- 

ings. A

Spinoff From Mooncraft Technology 

Among a selection of 

spinoffs that enhance 

public safety is a fire 

protection material derived 

from Apollo's heat shield 

D escending 

from orbit after a mission 

to the moon, the Apollo Command 

Module carrying three astronauts 

plunged into Earth's atmosphere at some- - 

thing dose to 25,000 miles per hour. At that 

tremendous velocity, air friction built up 

temperatures on the spacecraft's exterior sur- 

faces as high as 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit- 

vet the interior remained comfortable. 

The reason was Apollo's heat shield, 

which was coated with an "ablative" mate- 

rial. The material was literally allowed to 

bum off, dissipating heat energy and thereby 

delaying temperawe buildup on the space- 

aaft's structure. In addition, the burned 

material charred to form a second protective 

coating that blocked heat penetration beyond 

the outer surface. 

The Apollo heat shield was designed and 

built by Avco Corporation. Subsequently, 

Avco entered into a contract with Ames Re- 

search Center to develop spinoff applications 

of the heat shield technology in the field of 

fire protection. The successful NASA effort, 

followed by further company research and 

development toward new applications, led to 

a line of fire protection materials produced 

by Avco Specialty Materials, a subsidiary of 

Textron Inc., Lowell, Massachusetts. One of 

the most widely accepted of the family is 

Charteka Fireproofing. 

Developed a decade ago, the original for- 

mulation was known as Chartek 59. Its pro- 

tective properties were dramatically demon- 

strated in 1985, in a spectacular fire test 

when NASA and the Federal Aviation Ad- 

ministration deliberately crashed a jetliner in 

a safety evaluation of a new type of aircraft 

fuel. The airplane's fuselage was almost en- 

tirely destroyed by a fire that raged for more 

than two hours. But interior cameras and 

tape recorders, encased in boxes coated with 

Chartek 59 and sealed with a special silicone 

foam, emerged intact, the film still usable. 

Since then the formulation has been made 

even more effective, through a mesh re- 

In Saudi Arabia, a worker sprays 

Chartek Fireproofing on structural 

parts of a crude oil processing 

plant. The long life fireproofing 

material is a spinoff from the heat 

shield that brought returning 

Apollo astronauts safely through 

temperatures as high as 5,000 

degrees. 

%hamek is a registered aademark of 

Avco Speualty Materials T-n.

inforcement improvement, introduced in 

1986, that offers longer-term fire endurance. 

The improved product is known as Chartek 

I11 Fireproofing. 

Chartek I11 Fireproofing provides long- 

term fire protection for structural steel in 

high risk industrial applications, such as the 

structure, conduits, pipes and valves of off- 

shore platforms and storage tanks used in the 

hydrocarbon processing industry. As was the 

case in the Apollo heat shield, the spray-on 

epoxy coating delays temperature buildup on 

the surfaces to which it is applied; it is, in 

other words, a means of buying time in a 

fire environment, allowing time to extinguish 

the fire, to redirect threatened fuel supplies, 

or to evacuate people. 

In the presence of fire, Chartek I11 Fire- 

proofing provides two kinds of protection. 

One of them is ablation, the technique used 

on Apollo involving dissipation of heat by 

burnoff. The other is called "intumescence," 

or swelling. Heat causes the Chartek coating 

to swell to a thickness six times greater than 

when it was applied, forming a protective 

blanket of char that retards transfer of heat 

to the steel structure. The mesh reinforce- 

ment keeps the char intact and reduces metal 

fatigue. 

Chartek Fireproofing provides fire protec- 

tion for as much as two or three hours, de- 

pending on the type of fire and the thickness 

of the coating applied. And because the ma- 

terial is non-porous, it offers bonus value as a 

superior coating for long-term protection 

against corrosion when there is no fire. A 

Freshly coated with Chartek Fire- 

proofing, a segment of an off- 

shore oil platform awaits delivery 

to its working site. The fireproof- 

ing material is in wide use in the 

oil industry and in other industries 

where there is high fire risk.

Robot Manipulators 

T 

he Space Shuttle's Remote 

Manipulator System-known 

to its 

builders as Canadarm-is a 

50-foot robot arm used to 

deploy, retrieve or repair sat- 

ellites in orbit. It made its 

.it debut in 1981 and operated 

successfully on 18 missions 

prior to the Shuttle standdown 

that began in 1986. 

Canadarm was designed 

and built by Spar Aerospace 

Limited, Toronto, Ontario 

under contract to the National 

Research Council of 

Canada as Canada's contribution 

to the Space Shuttle 

program. The project was 

funded by the Canadian 

government in the conviction 

that the technology would 

generate important Earth-use 

spinoffs. It has. In fact, Spar 

Aerospace has formed a Remote 

Manipulator Systems 

Division specifically dedicated 

to development and 

construction of robotic 

systems. 

- The initial spinoff version, 

shown above, is designed 

to remove, inspect and replace 

large components of 

I 

Ontario Hydro's CANDU 

nudear reactors, which supply 

some 50 percent of Ontario 

Hydro's total power 

reduction. All work is controlled 

from an operations 

114 Public Safety 

center remote from the reactor. 

Cameras on the robot 

arm provide the operators 

views of each stage of the 

operation, while the job is 

monitored over a communications 

network. The 

CANDU robot is the first of 

Spar's Remote Manipulator 

Systems intended for remote 

material handling operations 

in nuclear servicing, chemical 

processing, smelting and 

manufacturing. 

A second spinoff program 

began in 1985 with the 

signing of an agreement with 

Inco Limited for develop- I 

ment of remote controlled chine from a position under only improves safety in a 

mining equipment to en- 

an already-screened area, hazardous operation that 

hance the safety and pro- where he is protected from costs more than a score of 

ductivity of Inco's hardrock rockfall., he positions the lives annually, it 

mining operations. The first mesh, drills in a predeter- also increases productivity 

such system, now in service, mined pattern, then inserts fourfold. 

is a machine for installing and tightens the rock bolts, The Remote Manipulator 

wire mesh screening and handling 35 feet of screening System Division is also man- 

rock bolts to shore up the and 18 bolts in a three-hour ufacturing a line of industrial 

roofs of mine corridors, as sequence. The system not robots and developing addi- 

pictured at right above. An tional systems for nudear 

operator controls the ma- servicing, mining, defense 

and space operations. A

Lightning Detection 

L 

ightning causes an estimated 

$50 million a 

year in damage to 

power lines, transformers and 

other electric utility equipment. 

Much of the damage 

could be prevented or more 

quickly repaired if utility 

companies had a better understanding 

of lightning's 

characteristics and where it 

may strike. 

Lightning strikes are not 

yet predictable, but a U.S. 

East Coast Lightning Detection 

Network (LDN) operated 

by the State University 

of New York (SUNY) at 

Albany is providing utilities 

and other clients data on 

lightning characteristics, flash 

frequency and location, and 

the general direction in 

which lightning-associated 

storms are heading. The system, 

which began as a 

purely scientific endeavor 

and evolved into a practical 

application, has grown into a 

network that covers virtually 

the whole East Coast and extends 

beyond the Mississippi 

Rivet It indudes 30 lightning 

monitoring stations, 

each with a strike coverage 

of about 250 miles. 

The network is jointly 

funded by NASA, the National 

Science Foundation, 

the State of New York and 

the Electric Power Research 

Institute. There are two sim- 

ilar networks in the west and 

midwest, but NASA has no 

involvement with them. 

The monitoring stations 

are equipped with direction 

finding antennas that detect 

lightning strikes reaching the 

ground by measuring fluc- 

tuations in the magnetic 

field. The stations relay 

strike information to the 

SUNY-Albany LDN opera- 

tions center (above), which is 

manned round the dock. 

The center's computers pro- 

cess the data, count the 

strikes and spots their 

locations, and note other 

characteristics of the light- 

ning, such as flash density. 

LDN's processed data is 

then beamed to a satellite for 

broadcast to clients' receiving 

stations. At top right is a 

representative computer 

graphics display showing the 

location and flash density 

contours of 1,107 ground 

strikes recorded during a sixhour 

period in the southeastem 

United States. 

The National Weather 

Service uses SUNY-LDN 

data to determine the intensity 

of thunderstorms. But 

the major users are 25 utilities, 

including the big North 

Carolina Duke Power Company, 

which uses the information 

as a management 

tool. Duke scientist Nick 

Keener explains how the 

data is employed: 

"Since lightning is one of 

the major causes of electricity 

interruption to both residential 

and industrial customers 

during the summer months, 

advance knowledge of approaching 

thunderstorm activity 

is extremely useful in 

scheduling - field crews in 

anticipation of power out- 

ages. By utilizing real-time 

lighting strike information, 

managers are now more able 

to effectively manage their 

resources. This reduces out- 

age time for customers. " 

The information is also 

valuable to a special Duke 

Power working group that is 

looking for methods and 

technology to improve trans- 

mission system reliability. It 

allows matching customer 

problems with specific 

strikes to determine cause 

and effect; it enables study 

of the operating records of 

each transmission facility 

with detailed knowledge of 

lightning activity; line main- 

tenance can be directed at 

actual problem areas; and 

the design of new transmis- 

sion lines can be better tai- 

lored to the actual lightning 

activity of a geographical 

area. A 

Public Safety 115

Research Facilities 

A 

rgonne (Illinois) National 

Laboratory is a 

multidisciplinary research 

center with primary 

focus on engineering research, 

particularly in nuclear 

power; basic science; and 

biological and environmental 

science and technology. It is 

among the world's most advancedscientific/technological 

facilities, but even so 

sophisticated a center can 

benefit on occasion from 

spinoff technology. 

Donald E. Bohringer, Argonne 

engineering specdst, 

employed NASA information 

in two projects associated 

with the laboratory's Intense 

Pulsed Neutron Source 

(IPNS) facility. The IPNS is 

a powerful source of pulsed 

neutron beams for studies of 

the atomic and molecular 

structure of solids and liquids. 

It produces neutrons by 

firing accelerated protons at a 

uranium target. The NASA 

technology Bohringer employed 

involved improved 

vibration protection for a 

gamma ray detector in one 

project and, in the other, 

new leak detection technology. 

The IPNS and other 

Argonne facilities have many 

vacuum and pressure vessels 

and early detection of leaks 

11 6 Public Safety 

is highly important; the 

NASA information supple- 

mented Argonne's own leak 

detection technology, 

Bohringer learned of both 

items in Tech Briefs, a 

NASA publication that in- 

forms potential users of tech- 

nology available for transfer. 

Bohringer read in Tech 

%efJ that NASA's Jet Pro- 

pulsion Laboratory UPL) had 

developed a package for 

gamma ray detectors that 

protects the detector's semi- 

conductor crystal and isolates 

it from shock and vibration. 

He was interested in this 

development because the 

IPNS has two gamma ray 

detectors, located in the ura- 

nium target cooling system, 

subject to vibration effects. 

He requested and received a 

Technical Support Package 

that provided detailed in- 

formation, including a com- 

plete construction design, 

about the JPL development. 

It helped him develop a 

modified mounting system 

for the detector that com- 

bined the JPL design with 

Argonne innovation. 

At left above, Bohringer 

perches on the thick wall of 

the uranium target cooling 

system housing; in front of 

him is the gamma ray detec- 

tor, exposed to view during 

a maintenance period when 

the huge concrete/lead 

shielding blocks that cover 

the cooling box during oper- 

ation were removed. The de- 

tector (tan box) is shown in 

doseup above. 

Bohringer used another 

Tech Bridlead relative to 

soap-solution leak testing, a 

technique widely employed 

in aerospace and other in- 

dustrial operations. It in- 

volves brushing a soap solu- 

tion on the joint to be tested 

while the vessel contains he- 

lium under pressure; if no 

bubbles appear, it is as- 

sumed that the leakage, if

'c 

any, is acceptably low. But 

exactly how low had never 

been quantified until Mar- 

shall Space Flight Center 

conducted an extensive re- 

search study and produced a 

document describing the 

minimum leak rate to which 

soap solution detection is 

sensitive. The minimum 

turned out to be less than 

one-tenth the previously 

assumed minimum rate. 

At left, Atgome chief 

technician David Leach is 

demonstrating a soap solu- 

tion leak detection test in a 

system pressurized with he- 

lium; in the doseup above 

the bubbles idenufy leak 

areas that need attention. A

A Universal Antidote 

Among technology transfer 

examples in the field of 

transportation is an excep- 

tionally versatile disinfecting 

compound for automotive 

and many other uses 

An Alcide Corporation chemist 

performs a quality control check 

on a sample of Alcide, a multipur- 

pose compound that destroys 

mold, fungus, bacteria and vi- 

ruses without harming human 

animals or plants. 

1 18 Transportation 

F 

or years, auto manufacturers have had 

a problem: customers, especially those 

in hot, humid dimat=, complained 

about the mold that forms in car air conditioners 

or, more speufically, about the obnoxious 

musty odor the mold causes. It was 

a problem because potential mold-killing 

substances could also leave lingering toxicity, 

and the alternative-removing the air conditioner 

from the vehicle for cleaning and disinfecting-was 

costly. 

Last fall, two of the Big Three U.S. automakers 

concluded arrangements with Alcide 

Corporation, Norwalk, Connecticut for distribution 

of Akide's patented Ren New Air 

Conditioning Disinfectant. The special properties 

of the Alcidem formulation, which has 

been approved by U.S. regulatory authorities, 

enable it to destroy mold and fungus, as well 

as bacteria and viruses, with minimal harm 

to humans, animals or plants. This allows 

use of the product to disinfect and deodorize 

auto air conditioners without removing them 

and without any lingering toxicity. 

The disinfectant/deodorizer is one of a 

wide range of Alcide formulations engineered 

for a variety of purposes, spanning automotive, 

medical, agricultural, pharmaceutical 

and consumer markets. Alcide is not, strictly 

speakmg, a spinoff from aerospace technology. 

But the products themselves and the 

company that makes them are beneficiaries 

of assistance provided by NERAC, Inc., 

Tolland, Connecticut, one of NASA's nine

A technician is spraying Alcide 

disinfectant into the evaporator 

case of an auto air conditioning 

system; the product eliminates 

musty odor by killing the odor 

causing molds and bacteria that 

grow in the warm humid 

environment of many car air 

conditioners. 

Comy Crest Lincoln Mercury, New Haven, Connecticut

A Universal 

Antidote (Continued) 

Atter several years of develop- 

ment and test, Alcide Corporation 

has brought to the commercial 

marketplace a product of impor- 

tant potential for dairy farmers- 

a germicidal barrier teat dip that 

contributes to reduced mastitis in 

dairy herds by destroying the or- 

ganisms that cause the infection, 

thus aiding increased production 

of higher quality milk. 

I

Industrial Applications Centers, which pm- 

I vide information retrieval services and technical 

help to industry and government 

clients. The story of Alcide Corporation's 

I 

genesis and product development offers an 

I 

example of the type of assistance centers like 

I 

NERAC provide. 

.I The exceptional properties of the Alcide 

I 

compound were discovered by Howard 

I 

AUiger in 1977 and further developed by 

, Robert D. Kross, Alade Corporation's vice 

I president of research and development. 

I 

I 

While he was developing a compound for 

sterilizing uluasonic cleaning tanks, Alliger 

I 

found that the compound killed bacteria, vii 

ruses and fungi on or shortly after contact, 

I yet was nontoxic to humans, animals and 

phnts, whose tissues lack the chemical 

'i 

environment to which Alcide reacts. 

, AUiger recognized that he had found 

something with potential for many uses 

other than tank sterilization. He teamed with 

fellow inventor Elliott J. SifFand, in 1980, 

! formed a company to develop, market and 

license the compound. Today, SifF is president 

and chief executive officer of Alcide 

Corporation; Alliger is no longer active in 

the company. 

Afier an additional series of tests established 

the broad potential of Alcide compound, 

the company requested NERAC's 

aid in idenufying possible applications and 

i the typs of businesses that might have a 

need for such a product. NERAC conducted 

a computer search of more than a dozen 

databases and uncovered scores of applications, 

among them treatment of viral, fungal 

r and bacterial infections in animals; treatment 

of human skin diseases; disinfection and sterilization 

of medical facilities; as a sterilant for 

food production machinery and food preservation; 

as a preservative for cutting oils and 

paints; and as a deodorant/disinfectant for 

carpets, chemical toilets, public conveyances 

and meeting places. 

Alcide Corporation developed and tested 

spedc compounds for some of these appli- 

cations and some of them are now commer- 

cially available, but regulatory approvals 

slowed the commercialization process for sev- 

eral years. However, Alcide is now beginning 

to make major advances in the U.S. and 

abroad. The year 1987 was a big one for the 

company. In addition to the auto company 

arrangements, Alcide also made agreements 

with Bausch & Lomb for disinfecting contact 

lenses; with Procter & Gamble for mouth- 

wash, toothpaste and other oral care applica- 

tions; with W.R. Grace's American Breeders 

Service Division and the French iirm O.H.F. 

Santi Anirnale for distribution of a barrier 

teat dip designed to help prevent mastitis in 

cows. 

Among major research in progress, Alcide 

Corporation is teaming with Koor Foods in 

Israel to develop an antimicrobial food wash; 

with Cobe Laboratories, Denver, Colorado, 

in testing a new formulation for cleansing 

kidney dialysis machines; and with the Uni- 

versity of Connecticut Medical School to 

study the effm of the Alcide compound on 

human wound healing and scar tissue sup- 

pression. At Israel's Hebrew University Den- 

tal School, trials are in progress on a plaque 

reducing mouthwash and in England re- 

searchers are meeting success in human dini- 

cal trials of treating herpes and other sexually 

transmitted diseases with appropriate Alcide 

formulations. A 

@Alcide is a registered trademark of 

Alcide Corporation. 

At left center, researchers are 

conducting one of a series of 

tests to determine whether Alcide 

formulations can alter the course 

of lung disease. This is one of a 

number of research projects, in 

the U.S. and abroad, investigating 

the potential of Alcide technology 

in such diverse medical applica- 

tions as wound healing, treatment 

of acne, herpes and cystic fibro- 

sis. In the top photo, researchers 

are checking the results of tests 

relative to the anti-inflammatory 

and anti-scar properties of Alcide. 

The photo above is a representa- 

tion of what the Alcide compound 

looks like in microscopic view.

Business Jets 

S 

hown at top is the 

new Learjet 3 1 business 

jet and below it 

its iarger and heavier companion, 

the hqet 55C. 

Both are built by Learjet 

Corporation, Tucson, Arizona 

and both feature 

NMAdeveloped "wing- 

lets," nearly vertical exten- 

* 

sions of the wing (doseup at 

! lower right) designed to reduce 

fuel consumption and 

generally improve airplane 

performance. 

Powered by twin turbofans, 

the aircraft cany up to 

b 10 passengers. The Model 

55C, which takes off at 

2 1,000 pounds, is the largest 

of the Learjet family. The 

Model 3 1 ( 1 5,500 pounds) 

is the lowest priced Learjet, tially reduce drag. Additionan 

"entry level'' airplane in- ally, the wet generates its 

tended for the business air- own lift, producing fmard 

craft operator who wants to thrust in the manner of a 

move up from propeller- boat's sail. The combination 

driven air& to jet perfor- of reduced drag and addimance. 

Both feature Delta tional thrust adds up to sig- 

Fins, innovative company- nificant improvement in fuel 

designed tail surfaces that efficiency. 

provide high directional sta- wiiets are particularly 

bility at all speeds and im- ddve on the two new 

proved handling in the d- Learjets, which can routinely 

fic pattern and at lower operate above 45,000 feet 

takeoff, approach and land- and are capable of flying at 

ing speeds. Both airplanes altitudes up to 5 1,000 feet. 

are expecd to receive Fed- At such altitudes, where the 

eral Aviation Adminimation air is thinner, the drag recertification 

in mid- 1988. duction afforded by the 

wiiets are lifting sur- winglets is more pronounced. 

faces designed to operate in Learjet was the first manthe 

"vortex," or air whirl- ufacturer to use the winglet 

pool, that occurs at an air- design in production air&, 

plane's wingtip. This complex 

flow of air aeates air 

drag; the winglet's job is to 

reduce the strength of the 

vortex and thereby substan- 

initially on the Models 28/ 

29 introduced to service in 

1979. Several other plane 

builders are taking advan- 

tage of the NASA technol- 

ogy, notably McDonnell 

Douglas in its new MD- 1 1 

jetliner, A

Transportation 123

I Auto Design 

T 

he accompanying 

photos show exterior 

and interior views of 

the 1987 Honda Acura 

Legend Coupe, which was 

designed with the aid of 

the NASA-developed 

NASTRANB computer program. 

The Legend is among 

the latest cars designed by 

Honda R&D Company, 

Ltd., Japan, a longtime user 

of the NASTRAN program. 

The program is an offshoot 

of the computer design 

technique that originated in 

aircraft/spaced development. 

Engineers create a 

mathematical model of the 

vehicle and "fly" it on the 

ground by computer simulation. 

This allows study of the 

performance and structural 

behavior of a number of different 

designs before settling 

on a final configuration. 

From that base of experience, 

Goddard Space Flight 

Center developed the NASA 

Structural Analysis Program 

(NASTRAN), a general purpose 

predictive tool applicable 

to structural analysis of 

1 automotive vehicles, railroad 

cars, ships, nuclear power 

reactors, steam turbines, 

bridges, office buildingsand 

that's just the beginning 

of a lengthy list. 

/ . 

I' 124 Transportation 

The NASTRAN program 

takes an electronic look at a 

computerized design and 

predicts how the structure 

will react under a great many 

different conditions. Quick 

and inexpensive, it mini- 

mizes trial-and-error in the 

design process and makes 

possible better, lighter, safer 

structures while affording 

sigdicant savings in devel- 

opment time. One of the 

most widely used of all aero- 

space spinoff technologies, 

the NASTRAN program is 

available through NASA's 

Computer Software Manage- 

ment and Information (kn- 

ter (COSMIC)@ at The Uni- 

versity of Georgia (see page 

140). 

Virtually all U.S. auto- 

makers now employ the 

aerospace-derived computer 

design technique and most 

employ the NASTRAN pro- 

gram or other NASA-devel- 

oped programs in the design 

process. Honda R&D Com- 

puter Ltd. has been using 

NASTRAN for more than a 

decade for structural analysis 

of auto bodies, motorcycles 

and such components as 

tires, wheels, engine blocks, 

pistons, connecting rods and 

crankshafts. All of the 

Honda auto products 

designed in the 1980s have 

been analyzed by the 

NASTRAN program. A 

BNASTRAN and COSMIC are regis- 

tered trademarks of the National 

Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Windshear Prediction 

W 

indshear, miaobursts 

and extreme 

air turbulencecaused 

by sudden, intense 

changes in wind direction or 

speed-are difKcult to detect 

and thus dangerous to air 

&c. They have been positively 

identified as the cause 

of 28 aviation accidents that 

claimed 491 lives. 

The downburst, one of 

several forms of windshear, 

is illustrated below. A pilot 

first encounters unexpected 

lift and he reacts by dropping 

the nose of the plane. 

When, a moment later, the 

full force of the downburst 

strikes, the downward push 

is amplified by the fact that 

the airplane is already descending. 

The pilot must 

then react quickly to restore 

the plane to its proper ghde 

path. At right, a DC-9 airliner 

is landing shortly afier a 

thunderstorm at Hartsfield 

International Aqort, Atlanta, 

Georgia. The vapor 

streaming from the wingtips 

is the result of high humid- 

ity, a factor in windshear. 

Many groups are investi- 

gating ways to detect and 

predict windshear. Since 

windshear episodes are uan- 

sient, lasting only five to 10 

minutes, the goal is an alert 

system that would enable 

holding the plane for the 

brief period it takes for these 

intense wind abnormalities 

to pass. Most researchers are 

looking to electronic sensors 

as the answer. But Federal 

Aviation Consulting Services, 

Ltd. (FACS), Fresh Meadow, 

New York is going a ditfer- 

ent route--applying artificial 

intelligence techniques to 

windshear prediction. FACS 

has been working since 1985 

to develop a computer pro- 

gram that will automate the 

airline dispatch process and 

indude windshear informa- 

tion. FACS' artificial intelli- 

gence based Airline Dis- 

patcher program is intended 

as a backup, not a replace- 

ment for the human dis- 

patcher. It would incorporate 

the same data that a human 

would request to make a de- 

cision, and then draw a con- 

clusion using the same rules 

of logic as the human expert. 

In directing the FAG 

development, company se- 

nior vice president Jerry 

Eichelbaum initially used an 

artificial intelligence program 

called AESOP, originally de- 

veloped by Langley Research 

Center. As the design 

evolved, FACS was able to 

compact its database and re- 

place the AESOP shell with 

a new artificial intelligence 

program called CLIPS. Both 

AESOP and CLIPS were 

supplied by NASA's Com- 

puter Software Management 

and Mormation Center. (See 

page 140). 

FAG has signed an 

agreement with Genesis 

Imaging Technologies, Inc., 

Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. 

They have put together a 

prototype flight dispatcher 

based on FACS software and 

a hardware package that in- 

dudes a powerful worksta- 

tion connected to an optical 

disc information storage de- 

vice. The computer program 

puts emphasis on the factors 

found in every case where 

windshear was positively 

identified as the cause of an 

accident. The data is overlaid 

on a cartographic mapping 

program. 

Using all information 

available, the artificial intelli- 

gence module sets up a 20- 

mile sphere of influence 

around forecasted areas of 

windshear. As flight plans 

are filed, the routes are 

checked against "no fly" 

areas indicated. The total 

FAG/Genesis system pre- 

sents the user with pictorial 

displays of navigational maps 

overlaid with flight planning 

options. Two major airlines 

are considering test and/or 

purchase of the system. A 

Transportation 125

STOL Aircraft 

I 

n utility operations that 

involve flight over difKcult 

terrain, such as forest 

or jungle, a twin-engine airplane 

capable of flying on 

one engine is much preferred 

for safety reasons. But a twin 

;d not only costs more to buy, 

it is generally more expensive 

to operate and maintain. 

Michael E. Fisher, president 

of Aero Visions International 

(AVI), South Webster, 

Ohio has introduced a 

compromise-the Culex 

light twin-engine aircraft 

which, he says, offers the 

economy of operation of a 

smgle-engine plane, the ability 

to fly well on one engine, 

plus the capability of flying 

from short, unimproved 

fields in takeoff and landing 

distances of less than 350 

feet. At right above, one of 

two Culex prototypes is fly- 

t 

ing a simulated transmission 

line inspection. At right is a 

ground view of Fisher and 

I the Culex. 

1 

I: 

126 Tramportation 

Culex was originally in- 

tended to be a factory built 

aircraft for special utility 

markets where aircraft are re- 

quired to fly low over "hos- 

tile" terrain-terrain where 

loss of power would be dan- 

gerous-for example, pipe- 

line patrol, bush operations 

or aerial surveillance. How- 

ever, it is now offered as a 

build-it-yourself kit plane. 

AVI will provide a basic 

construction kit or a more 

detailed kit package with 

many prefabricated sub- 

assemblies to maximize the 

factory-built components. 

Culex was designed by 

AVI president Fisher with 

Wayne Ison and Walter J. 

Collie of Manchester, Ten- 

nessee. A key element of the 

design is an airfoil developed 

by Langley Research Center, 

which has long been engaged 

in designing a series of high 

efficiency wings for civil air- 

craft. Chief Engineer Collie 

states that the designers se- 

lected an airfoil known tech- 

speed stability." It offers 

high lift at low speed and 

relatively low drag at cruis- 

ing speed. Its thidcness per- 

mits use of a big wing spar 

for greater structural strength 

and provides greater internal 

volume for fuel shortage. 

The wing "skin" is air- 

craft plywood, as is the , 

whole airframe. "Wood is 

nature's composite," says 

Fisher. "We prefer wood for 

airframe structures because it 

nically as NASA LS(1)-04 17 absorbs the bending mo- 

Mod, one of a family of ments associated with flight 

GAW (General Aviation loads without developing 

Wing) airfoils for light air- fatigue and it doesn't 

craft featuring high lift corrode." At upper right is a 

characteristics and improved nearly completed airframe 

safety. The designers also awaiting installation of its 

used information from two plywood upper skin. 

technical reports: NASA Low Culex cruises at 140 miles 

and Medium Speed Ai$oiI per hour but the high lift 

Development and a second wing gives the aircraft a 

describing wind tunnel test stalling speed below 50 miles 

results of the airfoil chosen. 

Shown in side view at 

right center, the Culex wing 

is a thick airfoil selected, says 

Fisher, primarily for "the 

safety that comes with low

per hour. The company has 

flight tested two prototypes, 

one a 1,200 pound version 

with two 80 horsepower en- 

gines, the other a 650 pound 

version with two 48 horse- 

power engines. During the 

test program, Culex demon- 

strated its ability to climb at 

350 feet per minute with 

one engine shut down. 

At lefi, AVI employees 

are installing flaps on a third 

prototype, which has one en- 

1 

gine in place and the other 

awaiting installation. 

Below, a worker is pro- 

ducing wing ribs with the 

- aid of a construction jig; 

the wooden parts are bonded 

1 together by polyester resins 

I for superior strength charac- 

J 

teristics. A 

Transportation 12 7

A New Tool for Quality Control 

Highlighting spinoffs in n 

industrial productivity and 

manufacturing technology is 

a new product inspection 

system capable of finding 

tiny flaws P~~V~OUS~Y 

undetectable 

I28 Manufacturing Technology 

ndustry has long employed machine vision 

systems for quality control inspections 

and generally they work fine. If 

there is a problem it is that such systems 

cannot deiect all of the imperfections their 

users would like to observe and correct. 

Diffract0 Ltd., Windsor, Ontario is now 

offering an inspection system that allows detection 

of minute flaws previously difficult or 

impossible to observe. Called D-Sight, it represents 

a revolutionary technique for inspection 

of flat or curved surfaces to find such 

imperfections as dings, dents and waviness. 

The system amplifies these defects, making 

them highly visible to simplify decision 

making as to corrective measures or to 

identify areas that need further study. 

According to Diffracto, D-Sight can identify 

94 percent of the defects when inspecting 

stamped sheet metal; that compares with 

50 percent for conventional flaw-detection 

methods. D-Sight is also used to detect imperfections 

in glass or plastics, such as surface 

sinks, waviness or paint finish irregularities. 

The system is a spinoff from Space Shuttle 

research. Diffracto Ltd., a major company in 

the field of machine vision systems for inspection, 

measurement and robot guidance, 

was licensed to develop commercial applications 

for the vision guidance system of the 

Shuttle Orbiter's remote manipulator arm, 

known to its Canadian developers-Spar 

Aerospace Ltd., Weston, Ontario-as 

Canadarm (see page 132). In the course of 

experimenting with the vision system, 

Diffracto engineers noted the phenomenon of 

reflected light from the target material. This 

led to a company R&D program that produced 

an initial CVA 3000 Development 

System. 

The CVA 3000 employs a camera, high 

intensity lamps and a special reflective screen 

to produce a D-Sight image of light reflected 

from a surface. The image is captured and 

stored in a computerized vision system, then 

analyzed by a computer program. A live im- 

age of the surface is projected onto a video 

display and compared with a stored master 

image to identify imperfections. Localized 

defects measuring less than one thousandth 

of an inch are readily detected. 

Surfaces to be inspected must be reflec- 

tive. Since some-such as unpainted sheet 

metal-are not sufficiently reflective, 

Diffracto has developed a reflectivity enhanc- 

ing technique that involves wiping or spray- 

ing a wetting compound on the surface. 

D-Sight is offered in two versions with 

different levels of capability to allow the 

most cost-effective selection for a given type 

of job. The CVA 3000 is the top of the line 

and there is a lower priced WA 2000. 

Major users so far are auto manufacturers 

-including Ford, General Motors and 

Chrysler-who employ D-Sight to inspect 

external body panels, both metal and plastic, 

for dings, dents, low spots and waviness. D- 

Sight's sensitivity allows corrective action be- 

fore the defects become severe. The system is 

also useful for die tryout and "first article" 

inspection. 

Aircraft manufacturers are evaluating D- 

Sight for inspection of external aircraft sur- 

faces, especially those made of composite 

materials. A variant of D-Sight has been de- 

veloped for inspection of transmissive objects, 

such as windshields or canopies. The com- 

pany is also exploring the system's potential 

application to wind tunnel and thermal 

imaging research. 

I 

1

The Diffracto D-Sight pictured ,- 

is a quality control inspection 

workstation capable of detecting 

surface imperfections measuring 

less than one thousandth of an 

inch. In this test, the target surface 

is an auto fender (center). 

The fender is photographed by 

the camera (right) while the reflective 

screen (white back- 

ground) bounces light off the 

fender to highlight defects. The 

resulting image is computer ana- 

lyzed and the discovered defects 

projected onto the video displays. L 

1 

I 

D-Sight imagery points out various 

imperfections, for example, 

I the scratch in this auto door that 

I 

would not be visible in the showroom. 

Manufacturing Technology 129

Robot Design 

C 

omputer Aided Design 

(CAD) of products, 

such as buildings, 

aircraft, ships and 

autos, has long been established 

practice in industry. 

An advanced step in the 

CAD process is use of computers 

not only to create 

mathematical models of the 

design but also to predict 

how the design will perform 

in actual service. This is 

much more difficult than it 

sounds, because all the situations 

and problems that the 

product will face in service 

life must be reduced to 

mathematics so the computer 

can "visualize" what 

would happen under a 

variety of circumstances. 

Martin Marietta Aero & 

Naval Systems, Baltimore, 

Maryland has advanced the 

CAD art to a very high level 

at its Robotics Laboratory, 

which designs, analyzes and 

simulates robot manipulators. 

One of the company's 

major projects is construction 

of a huge Field Material 

Handling Robot, or FMR 

(model shown), for the 

Army's Human Engineering 

Laboratory. 

Design of the FMR, intended 

to move heavy and 

130 Manufacturing Technology 

dangerous material such as 

ammunition, was a triumph 

of CAD engineering. Sepa- 

rate computer problems 

modeled the robot's kine- 

matics and dynamics, yield- 

ing such parameters as the 

strength of materials re- 

quired for each component, 

the length of the arms and 

their degree of freedom, and 

the power of the hydraulic 

system needed. The Robotics 

Laboratory went a step 

further and added data en- 

abling computer simulation 

and animation of the robot's 

total operational capability 

under various unloading and 

loading conditions. 

All these different pro- 

grams had to be patched to- 

gether into one integrated 

program. Rather than de- 

velop new integrating soft- 

ware from scratch, the Ro- 

botics Laboratory opted to 

use a NASA computer pro- 

gram known as LAC, for In- 

tegrated Analysis Capability 

Engineering Database. Origi- 

nally developed by Goddard 

Space Flight Center, IAC is 

a modular software package 

containing a series of tech- 

nical modules that can stand 

alone or be integrated with 

data from sensors or other 

software tools. The user can 

define groups of data and 

the relationships among 

them. 

In the case of the FMR 

project, the Robotics Labora- 

tory was able to take data 

from 15 major software 

packages and reformat that 

data for viewing in different 

ways to make the program 

"transparent" to the user. 

This flexibility greatly facili- 

tated construction of the 

FMR prototype and contrib- 

uted substantially to reduc- 

ing the cost of the project. 

IAC was supplied to Mar- 

tin Marietta Aero & Naval 

Systems by NASA's Com- 

puter Software Management 

and Information Center 

(COSMIC)@. Located at the 

University of Georgia, COS- 

MIC makes available to in- 

dustrial and other organiza- 

tions government-developed 

computer programs that 

have secondary applicability 

(see page 140 ). A 

@COSMIC is a registered trademark of 

the National Aeronautics and Space 

Adminiitration.

Machine Tool Software 

F 

or almost 20 years, a 

NASA-developed software 

package has 

played a in the technical 

education of students who 

major in Mechanical Engineering 

Technology at William 

Rainey Harper College, 

Palatine, Illinois. Associate 

Professor William F. Hack 

has been using the APT 

(Automatically Programmed 

Tool) software since 1969 in 

his CAD/CAM (Computer 

Aided Design and Manufacturing) 

curriculum. 

At right, Professor Hack 

(suited) is explaining to students 

how the APT software 

works in guiding machine 

tools. At lower right students 

are learning how to program 

computer guided machine 

tools that use APT software. 

APT was designed specifically 

for computer aided 

manufacturing. The term 

APT denotes both the programming 

language and the 

computer software that processes 

the language. 

Professor Hack teaches the 

use of APT programming 

languages for control of 

metal cutting machines. Machine 

tool instructions are 

geometry definitions written 

in the APT language to constitute 

a "part program." 

The part program is pro- 

cessed by the machine tool. 

CAD/CAM students go 

from writing a program to 

cutting steel in the course of 

a semester. Harper College 

leases its APT package 

( 1 50,000 source statements) 

from COSMIC, NASA's 

Computer Software Manage- 

ment and Information Cen- 

ter located at the University 

of Georgia (see page 140). A

Composite Materials 

C 

omposite materials, 

such as those used in 

a widening range of 

aerospace and other industrial 

applications, are made 

' 

up of two key components: 

fibers to reinforce the 

strength of the material, and 

matrix resins (polymers) to 

hold the fibers together and 

provide protection. At right 

is a photo study of a representative 

group of fibers 

used in composites and a 

beaker of a binding material. 

At Langley Research Center, 

researchers invented an 

advanced type of polymer, a 

chemical compound formed 

by uniting many small molecules 

to aeate a complex 

molecule with different 

chemical properties. The 

material is a thermoplastic 

polyimide that resists solvents; 

other polymers of this 

generic type are soluble in 

solvents, thus cannot be used 

in applications where solvents 

are present because the 

solvents could damage components 

fabricated from such 

materials. Generally, the 

Langley development of the 

solvent-resistant material created 

a new polymer with the 

desirable pt0pelTies of two 

major classes of polymers, 

thus broadening its indus- 

trial applications, which in- 

dude molding resins, adhe- 

sives and matrix resins for 

fiber-reinforced composites. 

The technology is being 

commercialized through 

NASA licenses to several 

companies, one of which is 

High Technology Services, 

Inc. (HTS), Techimer Ma- 

terials Division, Troy, New 

York. HTS was founded in 

1983 by Milton L. Evans, 

who had spent 20 years with 

General Electric Company in 

scientific, marketing and 

general management posts; 

Evans, president of HTS, is 

shown below next to the 

processing facility for prepar- 

ing production batches of 

thermoplastic polyimides. 

HTS is engaged in devel- 

opment and manufacture of 

high performance plastics, 

resins and composite materi- 

als. Techimer Materials Divi- 

sion sells composite matrix 

resins that offer heat resis- 

tance and protection from 

radiation, electrical and 

chemical degradation. The 

division's core product line 

utilizes thermoplastic 

polyimides based on the 

technology developed at 

Langley Research Center; 

HTS has licenses for five 

NASA patents and has in- 

troduced several products 

based on that technology. 

The company is actively 

marketing matrix resins for 

composites used in aircraft 

and laminating resins for 

composites used in printed 

board circuitry. Techimer is 

also offering resins as adhe- 

sives for flexible circuitry and 

aerospace structural uses. A

Bar Code Labels 

I 

ar codes on supermar- 

- ket products and 

other consumer goods 

have reiatively short shelf 

lives in a benign environment, 

hence require little 

special design. But code labels 

&ed to systems that 

operate in orbit must maintain 

high readability for long 

periods despite exposure to 

the heat and vibration of 

launch and the harsh environment 

of space. 

American Bar Codes, Inc. 

(ABC), Brooklyn, New 

York, developed special bar 

code labels, under NASA 

contract, for inventory control 

of Space Shuttle parts 

and other space system components. 

They combine extreme 

durability with excel- 

I 

lent print contrast ratio, 

which dows &st time accurate 

reading over a 10-year 

inventory lifetime of the 

product. ABC is now producing 

these bar code labels 

commercially, for industrial 

customers who also need labels 

able to resist harsh environments. 

ABC labels are made in a 

company-developed anodized 

aluminum process and 

consecutively marked with 

bar code symbology and human-readable 

numbers. They 

offer extreme abrasion resistance 

and indefinite resistance 

to ultraviolet radiation; 

are capable of withstanding 

700 degree Fahrenheit temperatures 

without deterioration 

and up to 1400 degrees 

in special designs; and they 

offer high resistance to salt 

spray, cleaning fluids and 

mild acids. At top, labels exposed 

to high temperature 

are still readable although 

the aluminum base has 

melted. At lower left, ABC 

president Nate Moss is using 

an infrared scanner to check 

label readability. In the center 

photo, labels remain 

readable after an acid immersion 

test. A 

I

A description of the mechanisms employed 

to encourage and facilitate practical appli- 

cation of new technologies developed in 

the course of NASA activities

Recycling Technblogy 

A nationwide technology 

utilization network seeks to 

broaden and accelerate 

secondary application of 

NASA technology in the 

public interest 

T 

he wealth of aerospace technology gen- 

erated by NASA programs is a valuable 

resource, a foundation for development 

of new products and processes with 

resultant benefit to the nation's economy in 

expanded productivity 

In a dormant state, however, the technology 

represents only a potential benefit, like 

oil in the ground. One of NASA's jobs is to 

translate the potential into reality through an 

organized effort to put the technology to 

work in secondary applications and thereby 

reap a dividend on the national investment 

in aerospace research. 

NASA's instrument of that objective is 

the Technology Utilization Program, which 

employs several types of mechanisms intended 

to broaden and accelerate the transfer 

of aerospace technology to other sectors of 

The Tolland, Connecticut home of 

NERAC, Inc., one of 10 NASA- 

sponsored industry assistance 

centers that offer access to a vast 

databank, information retrieval 

services and help in applying the 

information. 

the economy. The program is managed by 

the Technology Utilization Division, a com- 

ponent of NASA's Office of Commercial 

Programs. Headquartered in Washington, 

D.C., the division coordinates the activities 

of technology transfer specialists located 

throughout the United States. 

A key element of the program is a net- 

work of 10 Industrial Applications Centers 

(IACs) &ted with universities aaoss the 

country. The IACs offer clients access to a 

great national data bank that includes some 

100 million documents of accumulated tech- 

nical knowledge, along with their expertise 

in retrieving information and applying it in 

support of clients' needs. The IACs are 

backed by a score of Industrial Applications 

Center Affiliates, state-sponsored business or 

technical centers that provide access to the 

technology transfer network. 

A representative IAC is NERAC, Inc., 

Tolland, Connecticut. NERAC was founded 

in 1966 under the co-sponsorship of the 

University of Connecticut and NASA. By 

1985, NERAC had attained such size and 

success that the company elected to sever its 

university ties and become a nonprofit, inde- 

pendent firm operating under continued 

NASA sponsorship. 

NERAC's purpose is to provide U.S. in- 

dustry and individual entrepreneurs access to 

existing and evolving technologies, with the 

aim of enhancing their innovation and pro- 

ductivity and helping them secure a compet- 

itive edge in the global market place. The 

center has helped literally thousands of com- 

panies to find new applications; stay abreast 

of scientific, technical and business develop 

ments; gain competitive intelligence; idenufy 

qualified technical experts; and monitor pat- 

ent activity. 

Among NERAC's technology assistance 

programs are document retrieval; a problem- 

solving service; and a current awareness/ 

update service that alerts a participant, 

throughout the year, to new developments

This ocean blue mussel attaches 

itself to rocks, piers and other 

surfaces by secreting a threadlike 

superglue with extraordinary ad- 

hesive properties. Bio-Polymers, 

Inc., Farmington, Connecticut de- 

veloped a synthetic mussel glue 

for the commercial market. 

NERAC helped the company se- 

cure research grants and identify 

commercial applications. 

I This 

'I brazing. 

in a particular topic or research area. 

An example of how NERAC helps 

industry is found in an experience of I n 

Gil6llan, Van Nuys, California, manufac- 

turer of advanced radar and cornrnand/con- 

trol systems. In one of several areas where 

NERAC has assisted Gilfillan, NERAC 

helped the company investigate structural 

adhesives over a two-year period. Gilfillan 

engineers reported that "NERAC was instru- 

mental in supporting ITT Gilfillan's technol- 

ogy program to replace more costly dip 

brazing of manufactured parts with a process 

which employs structural adhesives technol- 

ogy. This new process can provide cost sav- 

ings of up to $1 million per year for produc- 

tion volumes currently being experienced." 

In addition to the IACs, other mecha- 

nisms include Technology Utilization Offi- 

cers, located at NASA field centers, who 

serve as regional managers for the Technol- 

ogy Utilization Program; a software center 

that provides, to industry and government 

dents, computer programs applicable to sec- 

ondary use; applications engineering projects, 

efforts to solve public sector problems 

through the application of pertinent aero- 

space technology; and publications that in- 

form potential users of technologies available 

for transfer. These mechanisms are amplified 

in the following pages. A 

electronic system chassis is 

representative of a range of ITT 

Gilfillan parts and products now 

~d by structural adhesives 

than more expensive dip 

Gilfillan credits NERAC'S 

two year supporting research 

effort with a major assist in the 

company's realization of large 

scale savings. 

Recycling Techno 13 7

I. 

, 

Technology Utilization Officers 

A 

n important element 

among the NASA 

mechanisms for accelerating 

and broadening aerospace 

technology transfer is 

the Technology Utilization 

Mcer or TUO. TUOs are 

technology transfer experts at 

each of NASA's nine field 

centers and one specahzed 

facility who serve as regional 

managers for the Technology 

Utilization Program, 

I 

t Representative of the 

I group is Tom Harnrnond, 

TUO at Kennedy Space 

Center, shown at right conferring 

with technology utilization 

information assistant 

Helen LaCroix. The top 

photo shows a portion of 

sprawling Kennedy Space 

138 Recycling Technology 

Center, dominated by the 

massive Vehicle Assembly 

Building. 

The TUO's basic respon- 

sibility is to maintain con- 

tinuing awareness of research 

and development activities 

conducted by his center that 

have sigdcant potential for 

generating transferable tech- 

nology. He assures that the 

center's professional people 

identlfv, document and re- 

port new technology devel- 

oped in the center's labora- 

tories and, together with 

other cenrer personnel, he 

monitors the center's R&D 

contracts to see that contrac- 

tors similarly document and 

report new technology, as is 

required by law. This tech- 

nology, whether developed 

in house or by contractors, 

becomes part of the NASA 

bank of technical knowledge 

that is available for secon- 

da.ry application. 

To advise potential users 

of the technology's availabil- 

ity, the TUO evaluates and 

processes selected new tech-

nology reports for announce- 

ment in NASA publications 

and other dissemination me- 

dia. Prospective users are in- 

formed that more detailed 

information is available in 

the form of a Technical 

Support Package. 

The TUO also serves as a 

point of liaison among in- 

dustry representatives and 

penomel of his center, and 

between center personnel and 

others involved in applica- 

tions engineering projects, 

which are efforts to solve 

public sector problems 

through the application of 

pertinent aerospace technol- 

ogy. On such projects, the 

TUO prepares and coordi- 

nates applications engineer- 

ing proposals for joint fund- 

ing and participation by 

federal agencies and indus- 

trial firms. 

NASA conducts, indepen- 

dently or in cooperation with 

other organizations, a series 

of conferences, seminars and 

workshops designed to en- 

courage broader private sec- 

tor participation in the tech- 

nology transfer process and 

to make private companies 

aware of the NASA technol- 

ogies that hold promise for 

commercialization. The 

TUO plays a prominent part 

in this aspect of the pro- 

gram. He arranges and co- 

ordinates his center's activi- 

ties relative to the meetings 

and when-as frequently 

happens-industry partici- 

pants seek to follow up with 

visits to the center, he serves 1 

as the contact point. 

Support for the TUOs- 

and for all other elements of 

the NASA technology utili- 

zation network-is provided 1 

by the Technology Utiliza- 

uon Office at &;-NASA 

Scientific and Technical In- 

formation Facility (STIF). 

This office executes a wide 

variety of tasks, among them 

maintenance of the subscrip- 

tion list for Tech &.ieji (top), 

NASA's principal tool for 

advising potential users of 

technologies available for 

transfer; maintenance and 

mailout of Technical Support 

Packages (below), which re- 

quires a reproduction effort 

of more than 1.5 million 

pages annually; and respond- 

ing to requests for informa- l . 

tion, an activity that entails 

processing of some 80,000 

mail and other inquiries and 

mailout of more than 

200,000 documents yearly. 

The TUO/STIF is also 

responsible for distribution 

of technology utilization 

publications, for research and 

other work associated with 

this annual Spinoff volume, 

for retrieval of technical 

information and referral of 

highly technical requests to 

appropriate offices, for devel- 

oping reference and biblio- 

graphic data, and for public 

relations activities connected 

with media interest in tech- 

nology utilization matters. A 

Recycling Tcthnology 139

Software Center 

I 

n the course of its varied 

activities, NASA makes 

extensive use of computer 

programs in such operations 

as launch control, analyzing 

data from spacecraft, conducting 

aeronautical design 

analyses, operating numerically 

controlled machinery 

and performing routine business 

or project management 

functions. 

To meet such software 

requirements, NASA and 

other technology generating 

agencies of the government 

have of necessity developed 

many types of computer 

programs. They constitute a 

valuable resource available 

for reuse. Much of this software 

is directly applicable to 

secondary applications with 

little or no modification; 

most of it can be adapted to 

special purposes at far less 

than the cost of developing a 

new program. 

Therefme, American businesses 

can save a lot of time 

and money by taking advantage 

of a special NASA technology 

utilization service that 

I offers sohare capable of 

1 being adapted to new uses. 

NASA's mechanism for 

making such programs available 

to the private sector is 

the Computer Management 

140 Rerycling Technology 

Software and Morrnation 

Center (COSMIC)@. Located 

at the University of Georgia, 

COSMIC gets a continual 

flow of government devel- 

oped software and identilies 

those programs that can be 

adapted to secondary usage. 

The Center's library contains 

more than 1,400 programs 

for such tasks as structural 

analysis, design of fluid sys- 

tems, electronic circuit de- 

sign, chemical analyses, 

determination of building 

energy requirements, and a 

variety of other functions. 

COSMIC customers can pur- 

chase a program for 

a fraction of its original cost 

and get a return many times 

the investment, even when 

the cost of adapting the 

program to a new use is 

included. 

Cogeneration is the use of 

one energy source-usually 

coal, oil or gas-to produce 

both process energy and electricity. 

Cogeneration turns 

waste heat into power, conserving 

nand resources and 

reducing operating expenses. 

The Energy Systems 

Division of Thermo Electron 

Corporation, Waltham, 

Massachusetts speualizes 

in custom design of 

cogeneration systems. Many 

companies manufacture the 

components-boilers, turbines, 

valves, generators, 

piping, pressure regulators, 

etc. Two such components 

An example of how this are pictured: at top left a 

service aids indusay is the 22,300 kilowatt diesel prime 

use of a NASA developed mover and below it a steam 

program in design of turbine rotor. Thermo Eleccogeneration 

systems. tron engineers analyze the

t 

Technology Applications 

0 tion Program is an 

ne facet of NASA's 

Technology Utiliza- 

applications engineering ef- 

fort involving use of NASA 

expertise to redesign and 

3 reengineer existing aerospace 

ip technology for the solution of 

problems encountered by 

federal agencies, other public 

sector institutions or private 

organizations. 

Applications engineering 

projects originate in various 

ways. Some stem from re- 

quests from assistance from 

other government agencies, 

others are generated by 

NASA technologists who 

perceive possible solutions to 

problems by adapting 

NASA technology to the 

need. NASA employs an 

application team composed 

of several scientists and engi- 

neers representing diEerent 

areas of expertise. The team 

members contact public 

sector agenaes, medical 

institutions, industry 

representatives, trade and 

professional groups to un- 

cover problems that might 

be susceptible to solution 

I through application of 

aerospace technology. 

An example of an ongoing 

applications engineering 

project is an efliort to im- 

prove the sight of some 2.5 

million people in the U.S. 

who suffer from "low vi- 

sion," visual impairment 

that cannot be corrected 

medically, surgically or by 

conventional prescription 

eyeglasses. 

142 Recycling Technolog 

OPTICAL FIBER 

Still in an early stage, this 

project contemplates employ- 

ment of space-derived com- 

puterized image enhance- 

ment technology to alter and , 

enhance images to compen- 

sate for the low vision 

patient's impawed eyesight. 

The program, expected to 

take seven to nine years, is a 

collaborative effort of NASA 

and the Wilrner Eye Insti- 

tute of Johns Hopkins Med- 

ical Institutions, Baltimore, 

Maryland. It will be coordi- 

nated for NASA by the 

Earth Resources Laboratory 

of John C. St& Space 

Center, Mississippi, with 

technical contributions from 

the Jet Propulsion Labora- 

tory, Johnson Space Center, 

and AMES Research Center. 

The planned Low Vision 

Enhancement System, to re- 

semble "wraparound" eye- 

glasses, above, will custom 

tailor images of the outside 

world. The patient will see 

the world on miniature TV 

saeens where the lenses of 

eyeglasses are normally lo- 

cated. Lenses and imaging 

glass fibers will be embed- 

ded on each side of the 

wraparound section, where 

the front and ear pieces join. 

The lenses will form images 

of the scene before the pa- 

tient on the surfaces of the 

fibers. The fibers, similar to 

MAGIN NO LENS 

TV CAMERA LENSES 

SOUD STATE 

VIDEO CAMERAS 

IMAOE PROCESSOR 

those used to carry telephone 

signals, will carry pictures 

from miniature solid state 

TV cameras fitted to a belt 

or shoulder pack as shown 

above. The images will be 

processed by a small, bat- 

tery-powered system in the 

pack and displayed on the 

TV saeens (top photo).

I '. The system is expected to stabilized platform would 

benefit patients who have 

lost their peripheral or side 

field of vision, such as those 

suffering from glaucoma or 

from retinitis pigmentosa, a 

progressive degeneration of 

the retina. It will also benefit 

patients with central vision 

loss, the part of vision nor- 

mally used for reading; such 

patients may have macular 

degeneration associated with 

aging, or diabetic retinopa- 

thy, in which diabetes causes 

swelling and leakage of fluid 

in the center of the retina. 

Another example is a 

project to develop a stabi- 

lized observation instrument 

platform for public service 

helicopters, which would en- 

able, for example, police or 

antidrug agencies to observe 

ground activity from a re- 

mote, undetectable vantage 

point (lefi). The observing 

instruments would be 

cameras, infrared imagers 

and low light television 

cameras. 

The problem with existing 

equipment is that vibration 

from the helicopter's rotor 

system makes it difficult to 

use lenses with long focal 

lengths because the vibration 

distorts the imagery from 

the observing instruments. 

Fully developed, the cabin- 

mounted or belly-mounted 

negate the effects of vibra- 

tion and make it possible to 

observe ground targets with 

lenses that can focus on two- 

inch letters (license plate 

size) from a distance of one 

to two miles. 

This project involves joint 

effort by RECON Research, 

Bend, Oregon; Jet Propul- 

sion Laboratory (JPL); and 

the NASA Application 

Team, Research Triangle In- 

stitute, North Carolina; and 

NASA's Technology Utiliza- 

tion Division. RECON, with 

JPL assistance, designed a 

platform (left) and conducted 

documented flight tests, 

using two helicopters and 

equipment provided by 14 

diff'erent vendors. The next 

step is further development 

to rehe the design and pro- 

duce a moderately priced 

stabilized pladorm that 

could have a broad comrner- 

cia1 market-beyond the 

public service need-in ae- 

rial photography and other 

aviation applications. A 

Recycling Technology 143

Publications 

A 

n essential measure in 

promoting greater use 

of NASA technology 

is letting potential users 

know what NASA-developed 

technology is available 

for transfer. This is accomplished 

primarily through 

the publication NASA Teth 

Briefi. 

The National Aeronautics 

and Space Act requires that 

NASA contractors furnish 

written reports containing 

technical information about 

inventiom, improvements or 

innovations developed in the 

course of work for NASA. 

Those reports provide the 

input for Tecb Issued 

10 times a year in 1988 and 

once a month beginning in 

1989, the publication is a 

current awareness medium 

and problem solving tool for 

more than 100,000 govem- 

ment and indusay readers. 

First published in 1962 

as sde-sheet briefs, Tech 

Bri& was converted to a 

NASA-published magazine 

format in 1976 and since 

1985 it has been a joint 

publishing venture of NASA 

and American Business 

144 Recycling Technology 

Wdols of New York 

city. 

E a c h ~ e ~ i n - 

fbrmation on newly &el- 

oped &u- tlnd PI-, 

dvoureesinbaskandap- 

piid remiah, impmvemem 

ill $hap and lzxboraatory tech- 

niqua, new so- of &- 

Rid data and eamputer pro- 

pms, md other in& 

orighthqg at NASA field 

centers of at the u ties of 

reco~eryvis- ~ ~ ~ S o t v e r 

energy savrrc(3s of more than ~ ~ IMB 1 ~11dmsa . 

.S250F090 a 

mom ajld pEcvrrides it with 

Another example: Eagi- deceiarl~computed 

neers of Hais Go@on's bydle~tobethe~ 

~ ~ c p!%?x%& o Md- t codrivet the 

- 

h e , Fkida llptrd in TK~ moaotrrt@m&- 

&.fJ about M d spa€@ chq. Mim, a Hanig 

FJight Cmter's dhgment SemiOOnd~englnser 

NASA can-m. Finns in- of he Power Faam ckmoi- &mpoava-w 

d in a pard& inno- ter (PW, a detrlce fm cub ment equipment dunlng op- 

~on~ygecmore iagpowermmgeinalta- ~ofa,dtilleqIriPpod 

dded idkmation by re- mthg cumnt naotiors. The with r HV-1000 camroller. 

a T a d Support P X W m a * TheIMEkqllippeddrill 

*; rn0re thm 10Q*000 voltage with the need u~es?9~,thesamedrill 

Suchreqwmgene-rared dm0tqtathgPhshe without * controller would 

mdy 

fixed full-laad vdqJe it bw 160 watts. 

Here are gome examples W0uk.i -y m, actine; Ashirdexamgle; Attop 

of how Dch wfi spfeds ~ t a t h s ~ u m iigh;r, a bl~del L dhphyiag 

the word and iaapim q a a n d b w TRX Anti-Peg Qm@& 

seam* usage of NASA lw&ml!eq&w. anitxqxdwm 

cfxh* 

HmkStmid-en- 

that pens clrmbadon of 

Thedirectorof- 

*in~&thePFC moimreonplassicandglaae 

hgOfBallMdW* tedwbgyMinTsth without hm&g the s& 

& Service Division of Ball &igfi in a zelated iEmovation: of such d. Itbdiw 

Q+m, Chicago, Illi- an int-ted dtniit that re- NedbyTraeetWd 

no$ wed NASA heat transfer 

iniixmatim c y r n M in 

Tacst&.ie$iasadeparmre 

pointfixthedesignofaa 

duces onto me chip most of 

the -cimritryofthe mY: for 

s&le phase iudunim motors,Thechipistheheartof 

-PY, T-pa, =da, 

it has a vadety of apphtiam-for 

example, fbg prevention 

far eyqhses, ski 

energy=~bh=reurvery 

sysitem. The slystem employs 

a&ofheatex&qers 

(cm=)meightpre9sd 

amthgbUspdtodecome 

metal sheets* alodng with an 

the Hamis HV-IOIM, fnduc- goggles, skin di* masks, 

car windows, hhmm mirrors, 

camera lenses d hdmet 

shields. 

The armpou~d was origid 

y developed by Johnson 

e~~nomkd, higbly &Gent 

dyst that &omposes 

h y k e 3owhg out of 

the ovens used in the metal 

decorating proas, The eam- 

S~centertobrstf~formatiaa 

cm astromut hehut 

vi9orS 4 8- WiRdm. 

T w Chemical's 

p y estimates that the heat

president learned of the 

compound from Terh &j&, 

subsequently obtained a 

NASA license for manufacture 

and marketing of the 

compound and started production. 

The coppany found 

a strong customer base in the 

U.S. and additional markets 

in the United Kingdom, 

Norway, Japan and Taiwan. 

Available to scientists, engineers, 

business executives 

and other qualified technology 

transfer agents in industry 

or government, Teth 

Briefs is the primary publication 

of the Technology Utilization 

Program. Among others 

are this annual Spinoff 

volume and the NASA Patent 

Ab~tram Bibliography, a 

semiannually updated compendium 

of NASA patented 

inventions available for licensing, 

which now number 

almost 4,000 (the latter 

publication can be published 

from the National Technical 

Information Service, Springfield, 

Virginia 22 101). A

NASA's Technology Transfer System 

The NASA system of technology transfer 

personnel and facilities extends from coast to 

coast and provides geographical coverage of 

the nation's primary industrial concenttations, 

together with regional coverage of state 

and local governments engaged in transfer 

activities. For specific information concerning 

the activities described below, contact the appropriate 

technology utilization personnel at 

the addresses listed. 

A Field Center Technolw Utilization 

Offj~ers: manage center participation in 

regional technology utilization activities. 

lndu~trzal Applications Centers: 

information retrieval services and assis- 

tance in applying technical information 

relevant to user needs. 

0 industrial Applications Center Afiliates: 

state-sponsored business or technical 

assistance centers that provide access to 

NASA's technology transfer network. 

The Computer Soju~are Management and 

Infnrmatzon Center (COSMIC): offers gov- 

ernment-developed computer programs 

adaptable to secondary use. 

A Application Team: 

agencies and private institutions in apply- 

ing aerospace technology to solution of 

public problems. 

For information of a general nature about 

the Technology Utilization program, address 

inquiries to the Director, Technology Utilization 

Division, NASA Scientific and Technical 

Information Facility, Post Office Box 8757, 

Baltimore, Maryland 2 1240. 

A Field Centers 

Ames Research Center 

National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration 

Moffett Field, California 94035 

Technology Utilization Officer: 

Laurence A. Milov 

Phone: (4 15) 694-647 1 




Greenbelt, Maryland 20771 


Donald S. Friedman 

Phone: (301) 286-6242 

Lyndon B. John~on Space Center 



Houston, Texas 77058 


Dean C. Glenn 

Phone: (713) 483-3809 

John E Kennedy Space Center 



Kennedy Space Center, Florida 32899 


Thomas Hammond 

Phone: (305) 867-3017 

Langlqr Research Center 



Hampton, Virginia 23665 


John Samos 

Phone: (804) 865-3281 

Lmis Research Center 



2 1000 Brookpark Road 

Cleveland, Ohio 44 13 5 


Daniel G. Soltis 

Phone: (216) 433-5567 

George C. Marshall Space Flight 

Center 



Marshall Space Flight Center, 

Alabama 35812 

Director, Technology Utilization Officer: 

lsmail Akbay 

Phone: (205) 544-2223 

Jet Propulsion Laboratory 

4800 Oak Grove Drive 

Pasadena, California 9 1 109 

Technology Utilization Manager: 

N m n L. CbaGn 

Phone: (818) 354-2240

NASA Resident Ofie+PL 

4800 Oak Grove Drive 

Pasadena, California 9 1 109 


Gwdon S. Chapman 

Phone: (818) 354-4849 

John C. Stennis Space Center 

Missippi 39529 


Robert M. Barlow 

Phone: (601) 688-1929 

Industrial Application Centers 

Aerospace Research Applications 

center 

6 1 1 N. Capitol Avenue 

Indianapolis, Indiana 46204 

E T. Janis, Ph.D., director 

Phone: (3 17) 262-5036 

I Central Industrial Applications Center 

Southeastern Oklahoma State University 

Durant, Oklahoma 74701 

DicRie Deel, Ph.D., director 

Phone: (405) 924-6822 

NASA Industrial Applications Center 

823 W iam Pitt Union 

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260 

Paul A. McWiiliams, Ph.D., 

executive director 

Phone: (4 12) 648-7000 

NASA Industrial Applications Center 

Research Annex, Room 200 

University of Southern California 

37 16 South Hope Street 

Los Angeles, California 90007 

Radford G. King, director 

Phone: (213) 743-8988 

(800) 642-2872 (CA only) 

(800) 872-7477 (toll free, US) 

NERAC, Inc. 

One Technology Drive 

Tolland, Connecticut 06084 

DanieL Wilde, Ph.D., presiden~ 

Phone: (203) 872-7000 

No& Carolina Science and 

Technology Research Center 

PO. Box 12235 

Research Triangle Park, 

North Carolina 27709 

H. Lynn Reese, director 

Phone: (9 19) 549-067 1 

Technology Applications Center 

University of New Mexico 

Albuquerque, New Mexico 87 13 1 

Stanley A. Morain, Ph.D., director 

Phone: (505) 277-3622 

Southern Technology Applications 

center 

Progress Center, PO. Box 24 

1 Progress Boulevard 

Alachua, Florida 3261 5 

J. Ronald Thornton, director 

Phone: (904) 462-3913 

(800) 354-4832 (FL only) 

(800) 225-0308 (toll free, US) 

NASAIUK Technology Applications 

Program 

109 Kinkead Hall 

University of Kentucky 

Lexington, Kentucky 40506 

William R. Strong, director 

Phone: (606) 257-6322 

NASAISU Industrial Applications 

Center 

Southern University 

Department of Computer Science 

Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70813-2065 

John Hubbell, Ph.D., director 

Phone: (504) 771-2060 

0 Industrial Application Center 

Affiliates 

Alabama 

Johnson Research Center 

University of Alabama-Huntsville 

Huntsville, Alabama 35899 

Phone: (205) 895-6257 

Alaska 

Director, Alaska Economic Development 

Center 

University of Alaska-Juneau 

1 108 F Street, Juneau, Alaska 9980 1 

Phone: (907) 789-4402 

Arizona 

Technology Transfer Network 

3883 East Thomas Road 

Phoenix, Arizona 850 18 

Phone: (602) 220-0177 

Arkansas 

SBDC/Technology Center 

100 South Main Street, Suite 401 

Little Rock, Arkansas 7220 1 

Phone: (501) 371-5382 

California 

See Industrial Applications Center, 

University of Southern California 

Colorado 

Director, Business Advancement Centers 

University of Colorado 

1690 38th Street, Suite 101 

Boulder, Colorado 8030 1 

Phone: (303) 444-5723 

Florida 

See Southern Technology Applications 

Center, University of Florida 

Georgia 

Georgia Institute of Technology 

O'Keefe Building, Room 222 

Atlanta, Georgia 30332 

Phone: (404) 894-4299 

Hawaii 

Director, Pacific Business Center 

University of Hawaii 

2404 Maile Way, D202A 

Honolulu, Hawaii 96822 

Phone: (808) 948-6286 

Idaho 

Director, Idaho Business Development 

Center 

Boise State University 

19 10 University Drive 

Boise, Idaho 83725 

Phone: (208) 385-1640 

Indiana 

See Aerospace Research Applications 

Center, Indianapolis Center for 

Advanced Research 

Iowa 

Director, CIRAS-Iowa State University 

205 Engineering Annex 

Ames, Iowa 500 1 1 

Phone: (5 15) 294-3420 

Kentucky 

See NASA/UK Technology Applications 

Program, University of Kentucky 

Louisiana 

See NASA/SU Industrial Applications 

Center, Southern University 

Mississippi 

Institute of Technology Development 

700 North State Street, Suite 500 

Jackson, Mississippi 39202 

Phone: (601) 960-3634 

Montana 

Director, University Technical Assistance 

Program 

College of Engineering 

402 Roberts Hall 

Montana State University 

Bozeman, Montana 59717-0007 

Nebaska 

Director, Nebraska Technical Assistance 

Center 

University of Nebraska 

W191 Nebraska Hall 

Lincoln, Nebraska 68588 

Nevada 

Desert Research Institute 

PO. Box 60220 

Reno, Nevada 89506 

Phone: (702) 673-7388

New England 

See Industrial Applications Center, 

NERAC. Inc. 

New Mexico 

See Industrial Application Center, 

TAC, University of New Mexico 

Director, Business Assistance and 

Resource Center 

University of New Mexico 

Albuquerque, New Mexico 87 13 1 

Phone: (505) 277-3541 

North Carolina 

See Industrial Applications Center 

North Carolina Science and Technology 

Research Center 

Director of Small Business 

North Carolina Department of 

Community Colleges 

200 West Jones Street 

Raleigh, North Carolina 27603-1337 

Phone: (919) 733-7051 

North Carolina Small Business and 

Technology Development Center 

820 Clay Street 

Raleigh, North Carolina 27605 

Phone: (919) 733-4643 

North Dakota 

Director, Center for Innovation and 

Business Development 

University of North Dakota 

Box 8 103, University Station 

Grand Forks, North Dakota 58202 

Phone: (701) 777-3796 

Oklahoma 

See Central Industrial 

Applications Center 

Southeastern Oklahoma State University 

Oregon 

Director, Regional Services Institute 

Eastem Oregon State College 

8th and K 

La Grande, Oregon 97850 

Phone: (503) 963-2 17 1 

Pennsylvania 

See Industrial Applications Center 

University of Pittsburgh 

South Carolina 

State Board for Technical and 

Comprehensive Education 

State of South Carolina 

Room 103, 1 1 1 Executive Center Drive 

Columbia, South Carolina 292 10 

Phone: (803) 737-9367 

Tennessee 

Director, Tennessee Technology 

Foundation 

PO. Box 23184 

Knoxville, Tennessee 37933-1 184 

Phone: (615) 694-6772 

Center for Industrial Services 

University of Tennessee 

Capitol Boulevard Building, Suite 40 

Nashville, Tennessee 372 19 

Phone: (615) 242-2456 

Texas 

Technology Business Development 

Division 

Texas Engineering Experiment Station 

Texas A&M University 

3 10 Engineering Research Center 

College Station, Texas 77843-3369 

Phone: (409) 845-8717 

Vermont 

Agency of Development and 

Community Affairs 

State of Vermont 

109 State Street 

Montpelier, Vermont 05607 

Phone: (802) 828-322 1 

Virginia 

Director of Technology Transfer 

Center for Innovative Technology 

Hallmark Building, Suite 20 1 

13873 Park Center Road 

Herndon, Virginia 2207 1 

Phone: (703) 689-3037 

Washington 

State Director, Small Business 

Development Center 

Washington State University 

44 1 Todd Hall 

Pullman, Washington 99164-4740 

Phone: (509) 335-7876 

West Virginia 

Science and Technology Center 

West Virginia Board of Regents 

950 Kanawha Boulevard East 

Charleston, West Virginia 25301 

Phone: (304) 348-3607 

The Software Valley Cowration 

PO. Box 700 

Morgantown, West Virginia 26507 

Phone: (304) 296-01 10 

Department of Statistics and Computer 

Science 

University of West Virginia 

3 1 1 Knapp Hall 

Morgantown, West Virginia 26506 

Phone: (304) 293-3607 

Computer Software Management 

and lnformation Center 

COSMIC 

382 E. Broad Street 

University of Georgia 

Athens, Georgia 30602 

John A. Gibson, director 

Phone: (404) 542-3265 

A Application Team 

Research Triangle Institute 

Post Office Box 12 194 

Research Triangle Park, 

North Carolina 27709 

Doris Rouse, Pb.D., director 

Phone: (919) 54 1-6980 

Rural Enterprises, Inc. 

10 Waldron Drive 

Durant, Oklahoma 74701 

Steve Hardy, director 

(405) 924-5094 

NASA Scientific and Technical 

lnformation Facility 

Technology Utilization Ofice 

PO. Box 8757 

Baltimore, Maryland 2 1240 

Walter Heiland, manager 

Phone (301) 859-3000 extension 241 

Spinoff Team: 

Project Manager: 

Walter Heiland 

Technology Associate: 

Linda Watts 

Technology Associate: 

Jane Lynn-Jones 

Graphic Services: 

The Watermark Design Office 

Photography: 

Kevin Wifson

I 

--- - 

Director, Technology Utilization Divisioh 

Ofice of Commercial Programs 

NASA Headquarters 

Washington, D.C. 20546 

NASA 

National Aeronautics and 

Space Administration 

I

1988 - Spinoff - NASA

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